Wildlife and You Wildlife Emergencies:
Please contact birds@bestfriends.org
or call: (435) 644-2001 x 211.
Best Friends is a licensed
wildlife rehabilitation center.
Carmen Smith, Wild Friends Manager
Carmen Smith came to Best Friends in 1999 to work at Feathered Friends, the bird part of the sanctuary. For two and a half years, she helped care for all the bird species at the sanctuary; she also worked in the wildlife rehabilitation program during the orphan season.
Then, she worked at the Best Friends clinic for a while as a vet tech. At the clinic, she worked with an amazing vet named Dr. Henckel who was very patient with Carmen's many questions. Dr. Henckel taught Carmen how to relate to animals suffering from trauma (e.g., hit by a car, involved in a dog fight).
Carmen found herself increasingly drawn to wildlife rehab, so she applied for her state and federal wildlife rehabilitation permits. She has been the rehabber for Best Friends since 2005. In 2007, she was asked to become the manager for a new department called Wild Friends, which includes wildlife rehabilitation (state and federal), wildlife education (state and federal) and domestic rescue (ducks, geese, pigeons, minks, etc. - anything that doesn't fit somewhere else).
Carmen graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in philosophy and religious studies, with a minor in anthropology. During college, she spent a semester abroad studying sociology and ecology in Latvia, traveling to Russia and the Baltics.
She has two dogs, Quentin and Alta. Quentin is a large black shepherd mix who has been with Carmen since 2001, and Alta is a Lab mix who has been with Carmen since spring of 2006. Carmen says Alta was very shy at first, but is now acting like a goober, running with all legs flying fiercely in all directions.
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