VA Wildlife Center Holds Online Auction To Care For Animals

NORTHERN VIRGINIA, VA — The Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, the largest wildlife veterinary hospital in the D.C. area, is holding an online auction to generate much-needed revenue to take care of a growing number of animals coming to the facility.

The nonprofit center, in Clarke County, has already taken in about 2,700 animals in 2020, or 20 percent more animals to date than in 2019, including more than a dozen bald eagles. Three years ago, the center helped about 1,700 animals.

The auction includes paintings by some of the wildlife center's most famous residents. Several of these animals — an opossum (Nigel), an eastern gray squirrel (Rufio), a box turtle (Sheldon) and an arctic fox (Snow) — have created paintings for the online auction.

Center staff had the animals dip their feet in non-toxic paint and used positive reinforcement techniques to encourage them to walk back and forth across a canvas.

"The animals enjoyed the treats they got while doing it," BRWC Director of Services Jennifer Riley said Monday in a statement.

The online auction has more than 50 items, including bird houses, handmade pottery and local art as well as various wildlife experiences and animal naming rights. The auction runs through Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.

The Blue Ridge Wildlife Center also serves as a training facility for wildlife veterinarians and provides education outreach and on-site programs for school children and adults across Northern Virginia.