Volunteer Profile: Dale Kochenburg
It’s not often your current love interest introduces you to your next object of affection, but that’s what happened to Dale Kochenburg.
Dale loves to golf. A lot. Two springs ago he arrived at Los Lagos Golf Course for another day of green grass and sunshine. By chance he discovered that the course was built on the site of WCSV’s previous Senter Road location. Dale had heard of the Center before. Several years earlier he had rescued an injured red-shouldered hawk and taken it to the Humane Society, where he learned a Center volunteer would pick it up for rehabilitation. Now that his path had again crossed with WCSV, Dale decided that he would check us out at our current location. He arrived at the site and that same day signed up for an orientation.
Dale quickly became an invaluable asset, eager to learn all aspects of animal care. He works one shift per week, and became a room supervisor his second season. Last year he
also was on the squirrel home-care team. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, he goes to Zanotto’s Market and gleans produce to feed the squirrels, songbirds, and opossums. Picking through vegetables that are edible but not likely to sell and that the market gives away, he helps to decrease our operating expenses. In between rehabilitating animals, Dale keeps busy making site improvements. He and Bill Paker installed countertops in our two isolation rooms, increasing the workspace. They also put new roofs on the older outside enclosures.
By the way, Dale is not the only Kochenburg to be found in our organization – his wife Dianne has updated and maintains our website, greatly increasing our ability to reach a wider audience.
Over the winter, freed from the constant demands of feeding baby birds, volunteers have a greater chance to become involved in the rehabilitation of injured adult animals. Two squirrels in particular are fixed in Dale’s memory. The timing of their arrival couldn’t have been better. A squirrel lover at heart – squirrels and raptors are his favorite rehab animals. He enjoys watching the antics of the squirrels at his home feeder. They are “interesting little animals”,
Dale attended a seminar in Redwood City on squirrel care, where he learned about “Ensure for Squirrels.” Not really the same as the liquid supplement used in hospitals, it is a blend of banana, yogurt, and a protein/vitamin/mineral powder that is administered via a syringe to animals unable to take in solid food. Little did Dale know his newfound knowledge would soon be put to good use. Within a week, a female squirrel was brought in with a large abscess on her jaw. Caregivers lanced the abscess and cleaned the wound and administered antibiotics every day. During this time, Dale and other volunteers gave her “Squirrel Ensure” till she was ready to progress to soft food. After nearly two months, she was ready for release.
The second squirrel was hit by a bicycle along a trail. Luckily, volunteer Jill Fish happened to walk by soon afterward and brought her in. Dale was in the exam room when she arrived. It was clear she had neurological damage and she appeared to be on the verge of death. Dale set her aside in a warm, quiet spot to let nature take its course. A short while later, not wanting her to suffer needlessly, Dale went to check on the squirrel and saw a spark of life. The squirrel seemed more alert. Dale immediately hydrated the squirrel and began an examination. The squirrel’s teeth were loose in her gums. For five days volunteers fed the squirrel the same liquid formula, and then progressed to soft food as her teeth once again became firm in her gums.
Five weeks later, Dale and his wife Dianne drove back to Vasona Park to release the squirrel. As Dale opened the cage door, the squirrel ran out of the cage, made a beeline for the nearest tree 150 yards away, and scurried up without looking back. Dale has a t-shirt sporting a photo he took of the squirrel as a memory of a successful rehabilitation.
Since his retirement, Dale’s goal is to keep busy, learn new things and continue interacting with colleagues. He likes the variety of wildlife we see at the Center and feels the work here is always a learning experience. “I have yet to be here one day that I haven’t learned something. This experience is very positive: the people are good and the animals are fun.”
What is next for Dale? He recently got all three rabies pre-exposure shots so he can help in caring for raccoons and bats. Is there a new love interest on the horizon?”
