Are You Hungry to Help?
Will You Help Feed a Hungry Pup?
Pupping season has begun, which means baby marine mammals like Webby are vulnerable to the challenges of life in the wild. Yes, severe storms and harassment from people and dogs are the main reasons why pups end up on their own at much too young an age. Most of the pups like Webby that we rescue at this time of year are found orphaned, starving and in need of help to survive.
Yes! I’m hungry to help! Here’s my gift of fish!
At the Center, pup patients eat sustainably caught herring, which costs more than a dollar a pound. During the busiest times at our hospital, the patients can eat nearly 1,000 pounds of fish per day. You can imagine how quickly our food bills add up!
Here’s how you can help a hungry pup:
- Your $5 gift = 3 pounds of fish for a marine mammal pup like Webby
- Your $10 gift = 1 fish-mash smoothie for a seal pup like Webby
- Your $25 gift = 1 day of medication for a seal pup like Webby
- Your $50 gift = 1 day’s worth of fish-mash smoothies for a seal pup like Webby
- Your $75 gift = 1 day of hearty fish meals and medicine for a seal pup like Webby
Did you know that many of our young patients don’t know how to eat whole fish on their own?
You see, seal pups like Astrid and Webby must learn how to track and catch fish, as well as learn how to compete with their pen-mates for meals.
How do they learn these vital survival skills? During lessons of fish school, our specially trained volunteers use tactics like dragging fish on a string through the water to engage a pup’s natural instinct to catch fish. You can imagine how rewarding it is when pups like Astrid and Webby have their “lightbulb moment” and realize that fish is food.