Meet Jan, One of Our Valued Interns

Rod: Hi Jan. Where are you from?

Jan: I'm from Germany. I finished high school last year, and now I'm on a gap year. I researched different volunteering programs online and came across Critter Care, and now I'm here.

Rod: Oh, cool. So, you just wanted to volunteer somewhere?

Jan: Yeah.

Rod: This is a neat thing to do during your gap year. You could have just travelled around and had fun or whatever, but you chose this.

Jan: Yeah, I could have, but that would have been a lot of money. And I really like the idea of dealing with animals all day, caring for them, and especially releasing them back into the wild where they belong. I love that spirit, so that's why I decided to come here.

Rod: It sounds like you've always had an interest in animals and loved them.

Jan: Yeah, for sure. I spent a lot of time outside as a kid, so I came into contact with wildlife often.

Rod: Awesome. Do you know what you're going to do after this?

Jan: Yes, I'm going to go to college to study to become a teacher. I’ll be studying P.E., Spanish, and history.

Rod: Okay, awesome. So, nothing animal related. What's your day like here?

Jan: At the moment, I get up at 6 am to bottle-feed my raccoon babies. Then I feed my outside skunks and opossums and take care of a raccoon that was found with a rope around its neck.

If I have time, I have a quick breakfast before the morning meeting. After that, it's morning clean, then the day starts around 9:40 to 10 am. I usually have deep cleans and other assigned tasks. If I'm on deck, I'll handle that; if I'm on laundry, I'll do the laundry. I have another bottle feed for the raccoons at midday, and the same thing in the afternoon.

Then there's an evening clean, and I feed my animals again. Sometimes my co-parents help with the morning or evening feed, so I don't have to do it all day. I finish around 11 pm, have dinner, chill a bit in the common room or kitchen, and then go to bed to do it all again the next day. It's a long day, but it's fun.

Rod: You like the hands-on and working more. When did you start this? Were you here in the winter, and did you go home and come back?

Jan: Yes, I arrived on August 21, 2023. I was here for four months, extended for another month, went home in January, and came back to Canada in May. I'm here to experience the first part

of the baby season, which I missed last year. It’s a lot busier now.

Rod: What's a favourite or most rewarding interaction with an animal that's been here?

Jan: There’s one pretty crazy story—a success story, luckily. I was on CC3 from November on, caring for seven raccoons. On Christmas Eve, I noticed one raccoon wasn’t reactive and had something in its eye. We called the staff, and he was moved to Spirit, one of the raccoon nurseries.

He got antibiotics, but on Christmas morning, he was struggling to breathe with foam around his mouth. We monitored him closely, and eventually, an abscess on his neck was found and treated. He spent a month in Spirit and became very aggressive, which was a positive sign. Eventually, he was released with his group in April or March this year. It was a big relief to see him make it.

Rod: What do you see as the value of a place like Critter Care?

Jan: It all pays off when you see your animals getting released. That’s the highlight after all the work. It’s a bittersweet moment because you build an attachment to them. It’s hard work with

a lack of sleep, but it’s worth it. The time spent with other interns is also valuable. You meet people from all over the world and make lifelong friends. Back home, I was surprised by how much I could answer about animals, thanks to my experience here. It's definitely something beneficial to have.