Sara Frost, Newcastle, England    

Inspired by Jack London and David Attenborough, one year ago, I told my parents that I wanted to move to Canada and live with wild animals, in a forest full of wolves (much to my parents' horror). One year later, I have moved to Canada and live with wild animals, next to a forest full of coyotes (close enough to the original plan). Choosing to move 7,000 miles away from home and come to Canada wasn't a hard decision for me. Working with wild animals is what I live and breathe – but I had outgrown England and needed more adventure. Being a graduated zoologist, I had a good knowledge on many aspects of animal biology and conservation – but very little practical experience. After finding Critter Care on the internet, I knew it was the place for me to finally be able to put all those years of theory into practice. So with much excitement, I packed my bags and arrived in October.

The work, of course, is wonderfully “hands-on”, and it was very fulfilling for me to finally be able to apply my knowledge in a real-life work environment. Despite already having a background in animal biology, there was never a week that went by when I didn't learn something new. There is nothing that you can learn in a lecture theatre that will help you catch a cornered and aggressive bear cub – only using your own initiative. Along with handling a wide variety of animals (such as bears, raccoons and beavers) I learned how to give injections and administer medication to the animals, which was such a privilege. Furthermore, I was lucky enough to be assigned to working with the bears (all 16 of them!) which was a once in a lifetime experience. This not only meant feeding them every day, but always being ready to help examine/medicate (and carry!) new bear cubs brought in by Conservation Officers.

My favourite part of the work at Critter Care was responding to calls about animals that needed rescuing. Whether it was racing to the beach to rescue a beaver intoxicated by saltwater, crawling under someone's deck to capture a tailless raccoon, or setting a trap to save a dehydrated skunk – I loved every minute of it.  In fact, this is the first work I've ever done where I actually did not look forward to my days off!

One animal in particular that stole my heart while I was here was a flying squirrel, “Sugar”. She was raised as a pet (so very friendly) and on our first meeting she eagerly leaped down my sweater and proceeded to arrange my t-shirt into a more comfortable position, turn round in circles a few times, yawn, and go straight to sleep. I was in love straight away. She had a broken tail which needed surgery, and after many evenings of me dancing around her enclosure (retrieving her from underneath my sweater – her favourite place) she was finally able to be moved to an outdoor enclosure. She has now made a full recovery and become a wild squirrel ready for release, which is fantastic.

My time at Critter Care has been one I will never forget. It has been emotional, wonderful, scary and exciting. For me, the people I worked with soon felt like family and we got on extremely well. Yes, you may be working all day in the mud, rain or snow - but we know what drives us to keep working through the ups and the downs, and there's nothing that would stop me wanting to do it. Yes, you may not be best friends with everyone here, but we are all united by one thing – an overwhelming passion to do everything possible for injured and orphaned animals. These animals that you work so hard to help, in return, help and motivate you in a way you may not realise straight away. But when you look into the eyes of an injured raccoon who desperately needs your help, you never need to question why you're here.

A huge heart-felt thank you to all the staff, and fellow interns, for helping make my time here one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had – it will stay with me for the rest of my life.