Our Mission

Sarvey Wildlife Care Center rescues and rehabilitates orphaned, injured, and sick wild animals from the Puget Sound area, ensuring they get the best medical treatment and care possible, with the ultimate goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat where they can continue to enrich the environment we live in. We also strive to educate the public about wildlife through educational programs and by provide leadership, learning, and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages.

Our Purpose

Our primary purpose is to help our wildlife population continue, and assure immediate medical attention, food, and shelter for injured and orphaned wildlife at our facility. Balancing our ecosystem is important to the earth's future.

The education programs we offer for schools and organizations consist of presenting a number of our non-releasable birds of prey. We educate the audience about the natural history of these animals and stress the importance of conservation.  These animals give people a chance to connect to wildlife they might otherwise never see up-close and personal.

We operate the only wildlife ambulance service in the state of Washington, serving Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties. We have several pick-up locations spread throughout the Puget Sound region, so injured animals can be transported to Sarvey Wildlife quickly and safely, and be given the treatment and care they need. We also work closely with other wildlife rehabilitators to ensure that we are providing the best care possible for the wildlife brought to us.  

Our Background

Sarvey Wildlife Care Center is a 501(c)3 recognized nonprofit organization and was established in 1981 in Everett, Washington, with a handful of patients from the local neighborhood.

Within 6 years it became necessary to secure a more spacious and appropriate location. Kaye Baxter, director and founder, personally purchased 5 acres just south of Arlington, Washington, to give thousands of rehabilitating animals a second chance. With two ponds on the east side of the property secured for recovering deer and waterfowl, and the clinic, educational building, eagle flights, and a wide range of enclosures on the west half of the property, the land retains its rustic "out in the country" atmosphere. In 1995 Sarvey Wildlife took in just 992 animals.  By 2009 Sarvey Wildlife was taking in over 4,000 patients annually.

Our Goals

Our main goal is to provide food, shelter, and rehabilitation to orphaned and injured wildlife. This is just as comforting to the person who finds an animal in distress as it is to that animal. Having to leave an animal to die in pain and fear is incredibly disturbing, and having someone to turn to for help is a welcome relief.  Our sole focus is Washington wildlife, and we accept all orphaned and injured wildlife from throughout the state. 

As an organization we realize the answer to the multifaceted threats against our wildlife ultimately lies in education. Sarvey Wildlife provides programs for public and private schools as well as the general public and private organizations. The astounding growth in the number of animals we receive each year is a clear indication of the need for wildlife education. Sarvey Wildlife does over 120 educational programs a year reaching 15,000 to 17,000 children and adults annually. There is a high demand for our programs as we reach more and more community members.

Our Affiliations

We are active with many state, tribal and national organizations to keep up with the most current wildlife care practices and to share rehabilitation information with others in the field. We work with the Trumpeter Swan Association, the International Rehabilitation Council, the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, and the Washington Wildlife Rehabilitation Association. In addition, we work with many city, county and tribal police departments and other law enforcement agencies including the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Customs Service. Sarvey Wildlife is recognized by Animal Centers of Excellence (A.C.E.).

Sarvey Wildlife is a locally based nonprofit organization with funding coming mostly from private individuals in our community. The veterinarians that assist us donate their time. Our corporate officers and board of directors take no salaries. 

Our Staff and Volunteers

It takes over 100 volunteers to keep the doors of Sarvey Wildlife open.  Volunteers are responsible for making sure that the animals in our care are fed the proper diet and their areas are kept clean. Every cage and enclosure gets cleaned every day, and all animals get fresh water and food every day, no matter what. Some volunteers clean enclosures and prepare food while others concentrate on maintaining the buildings. All volunteers are a vital part of keeping the center open and operating smoothly.

We have five full time staff members. Leslie, our Clinic Director, has been a part of Sarvey Wildlife for nearly 10 years and was promoted to Clinic Director in October of 2008. Kelly, our Administration Director, has worked many shifts over her 9 years. After completing her degree in business management in 2007 she began to take on the office portion of running the wildlife center. Melissa and Saskia are both Lead Wildlife Technicians and are both fairly new to Sarvey Wildlife - this was their first baby season with us. Before coming to Sarvey Wildlife, Saskia interned at several other wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Canada and on the east coast. Melissa learned about customer service and marine mammals while working at SeaWorld and has experience with Florida wildlife.  Her vet clinic experience also transferred well to our wildlife clinic. Mark, our Habitat Developer, started as a volunteer. Once he built his first squirrel enclosure we knew we had to keep him. When the chance came to hire him, we took it.  Mark designed and helped construct all of our new outdoor flights and improved the landscaping and parking areas as well. Will is our part time ambulance driver. He spends four to six hours every weekday driving to the pick-up locations to pick up orphaned and injured wild animals. He also picks up donated produce and does other errands. We have three seasonal staff members to help care for the animals through our busy baby season. Currently they are very happy and relaxed as baby season wraps up.

Our Education Programs

Part of our mission is to help educate the public about our natural wildlife and how they can benefit the animals and the environment we all live in. We go to schools and events throughout western Washington and bring our non-releasable raptors along. Our education program is run by Kestrel SkyHawk. Answers to many of your questions can be found on the education FAQ link on our home page.