What We Do
How we started…
Leslie Triplett, the head of The Pond Digger Wildlife Rehab, developed a passion for caring for all types of animals when she was just a child. Raised on a small farm in San Bernardino, California, she was immersed in animals from birth. She started rehabilitating wildlife in the seventies, after moving from the farm to town. Soon after this, Leslie connected with Daryl’s Pet Shop, where the owners occasionally sent baby birds home with her to be rehabilitated and released.
When Leslie turned fifteen, she started working at Daryl’s. This is when rehabilitation began in earnest. Kay Lapham, one of the owners of the shop, introduced Leslie To Kandie Cansler, and Lenore Will. These great ladies of wildlife rehabilitation took Leslie under their wings, and began a new path in life for her.
Eventually, Leslie bought the pet shop, and worked there for many years. During this time, Leslie spread this love for animals to everyone around especially her family. Leslie eventually sold the shop, to spend more time with her children, and rehabbing took a back burner. .
In 2013 things came full circle, as April, Leslie’s youngest child, expressed an interest in wildlife rehabilitation. April and Leslie reconnected with Kandie, and began rehabbing wildlife again. In 2017, the family moved to a five acre ranch in Cherry Valley and began operating their koi pond installation business from this location. This gave Leslie the ability to start rescuing larger wild life. They graduated from opossum and birds to larger mammals such as raccoons, fox, bobcat, and deer.
As more animals came; so did a team of people ready to help. Leslie, April, Kandie, Marie, and Jennifer started a small community that could help most small animals and almost any type of bird. Once word began to spread, The Pond Digger Ranch became a hub for any injured wild critter in the Inland Empire that could find us. In 2021, we established The Pond Digger Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation as a Non-Profit, a huge step for this growing operation.
How we help the animals that find us…
Each season comes with its own challenges. During fall and winter we mainly receive adults. Birds will get caught in situations where they lose all their flight feathers, or tail feathers. In most cases, we are able to keep the bird in a larger flight cage and wait for everything to regrow which can take months. However, when a bird of prey is down sometimes we are able to implant new feathers to reduce their time around humans.
In other cases, an adult gets injured. We have had a few animals such as deer, bobcats, or foxes that have been brought to us because of dog or cat attacks, or when they’ve been hit by cars. In most cases, we are able to care for the injury in house, but we do have a local veterinarian we rely on also
During the Spring and Summer we are receiving mainly juveniles and babies. Babies lose their mom, or fall out of nests that we are unable to return them to. These babies need to be fed multiple times a day until they can eat on their own. As they grow, we place them in larger enclosure to begin learning normal habits, necessary for their return to the wild.
What We’ve Achieved
In 2020, we helped injured animals that were burned during the Apple Fire and the El Dorado Fire near Oak Glen and Cherry Valley.
In 2022 we were able to install new aviaries and a new duck enclosure.
In 2023 we completed our large raccoon enclosures. These should be able to home at least 6 groups of racoons as they are prepared for release.
Our next goal are some squirrel enclosures. We typically get about 60 orphan squirrels a year. They need some running and climbing space before release, and our current enclosures are still a little small
In 2021 we became established as a non-profit. Since then, we have been able to speak in schools, Rotary, and clubs. We also share stories on social media, educating people on how wildlife benefits the ecosystem. If you would like us to speak at your club or classroom, call us to schedule at 909-800-7676
We are licensed and monitored by US Fish and Wildlife, and often receive critters directly from them. We have also established relationships with Animal Control in several cities. We work closely with Redlands, Palm Springs, Beaumont, Banning, and Riverside animal control to help orphaned and injured wildlife that comes through their doors. We also work with many local veterinarians that end up with wildlife in their hands.