Down to earth
Sue Schwar’s love of and passion for animals led to the creation of a remarkable hospital for wild creatures who need special care and attention
Our motto at South Essex Wildlife Hospital is that we are ‘dedicated to putting life back into the wild’. We are open every day of the year and constantly full to the brim with animals, which we return to their natural habitats once they are fit and well enough for release.
I first realised my passion for wildlife in 1990 when I worked in the control room at Grays Police Station in Essex. We’d receive call-ins about injured animals, but there was no one we could ask to heal them. Having grown up with horses and been involved in cat rescue, I was quite adept at handling animals, so I started taking in wildlife in need of help.
One afternoon, I’d finished a shift and was getting my coat and bag when the phone rang. It was the RSPCA calling to say a cat had its head stuck in a can, but they couldn’t get to it for over an hour. I recognised the address (it was close to where I lived) so I went on the way home. I used a can opener to open the end of the can so the cat could breathe, before managing to get the can off its head. I rang the RSPCA to let them know I’d managed to save the cat. I offered them my number and said if they had other emergencies, I’d be happy to help, thinking that no more would come of it. By the end of the week, I had their inspectors turning up on my doorstep with baby birds and other creatures. One night, we had a call to tell us that a fox had run across a road and dropped its cub. The police on patrol didn’t know what to do, so I went out with an animal carrier, popped the cub inside it for safety, tied some scene preservation tape to the lid and took it back to the police car, hoping the vixen would come and we could open the lid for her to take her cub. She didn’t show up, so in the morning, I contacted the nearest rescue, The Fox Project in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. When the founder, Trevor Williams, came to pick up the cub, I found myself saying that if he needed any help, I would be willing. From that day on, he passed any local fox rescue calls in Essex to me.
PUBLIC SUPPORT
I realised that animals in the wild suffer from the same illnesses and injuries as pets do. They need pain relief and antibiotics, and yet there wasn’t anywhere for them to get those or any other treatment.
Very soon, my house started filling up with animals requiring help. One local vet was sympathetic and would give guidance on how to take care of them. At the time, there was no internet or mobile phones, so it was difficult to get information about what to
