PHOTO PROVIDED Amie Palmer, of Good Samaritan Wildlife, poses with a bald eagle that she helped rescue and relocate to a rehabilitation center. Palmer’s Good Samaritan Wildlife will be a new resource in Lycoming County and surrounding areas to help with injured animals. Currently, no such rehabilitation center is located nearby, with the closest one being located in State College.

PHOTO PROVIDED
An injured owl is shown being rehabilitated as it rests in towels and blankets. Amie Palmer founded Good Samaritan Wildlife, based in Linden, to help provide a much needed resource in Lycoming County and surrounding areas.

Driving over the years Amie Palmer, has like many people unfortunately, seen animals get hit by vehicles, or has seen abandoned baby animals.

It led her years ago to figuring out what to do.

“Who do you take this to? Who is responsible for this kind of stuff and I got to asking questions,” Palmer said.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission directed Palmer to State College, a trip of a little more than an hour from where Palmer resides in Linden.

“I have already driven up to the New York border to pick animals up because there is nothing in that direction from Lycoming County,” Palmer said. “There’s no one for wildlife. Nothing.”

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that type of thinking is what led Palmer to founding and creating Good Samaritan Wildlife. Palmer runs the organization out of her property as she has 15 acres in Linden.

It’s been a bit of a journey to start up, but Palmer is beyond grateful for being able to get it started and provide Lycoming County and its surrounding areas with a much-needed resource.

“What I’m trying to bring in for Lycoming County is to bring in everything. Working with Red Creek and Century Wildlife Care, they both take in everything and I mean right down to your little hummingbird,” Palmer noted. “It is unbelievable the things that I have learned that I would love to teach others.”

Palmer has plenty of experience in her life with animals. While she currently works as a pet sitter, she also had worked at a veterinary clinic for years and has been helping with wildlife volunteering.

Palmer has targeted the end of 2025 for her to have everything finished in terms of tests needed through Harrisburg with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. She has a one- and three-year plan for Good Samaritan Wildlife and is hoping by year three, she’ll have programs to offer college kids in the area to come in and receive hands-on experience through volunteering.

She also hopes that will extend into credits for college courses for students and Palmer hopes to get area school districts to possibly arrange field trips.

“I’m opening my front area so hopefully kids can see ‘yeah there’s squirrels here and this is what they need fed,'” Palmer said.

Lycoming County has not had any wildlife rehabilitation in nearly 30 years, according to Palmer. Any animal that is found that’s injured is often directed to being taken to the closest rehabilitator, which for Lycoming County and surrounding areas means a trip to State College.

“I’ll be taking in rabbits, squirrels, opossums, some rabies-vector species like raccoons. That sort of thing,” Palmer said. “I’m working on grant pieces at this point for funding. My husband and I plan on selling our home where we live at right now to help fund putting up a building in Linden.”

Good Samaritan Wildlife will allow for numerous injured animals in the area to be treated instead of having to get transported more than an hour away.

As of now, Good Samaritan Wildlife has no funding other than out-of-pocket by Palmer. She’s optimistic for funding in the near future, for stuff such as incubators which can run $1,400 for a single one.

However, that single incubator can also house 12 squirrels at once.

“So when you think about it, yes it’s that much but I’m housing 12 squirrels for a week and housing another 12 after a week,” Palmer said. “After a week, they’re at a stage they can be moved up. During that time, baby rabbit season starts up and they’re even smaller.”

Three incubators for instance can go a long way in saving numerous animals in need.

“I’m footing the bill for everything. It’s my electric, it’s my basement that I’m using, it’s my water. It’s starting out as a mom-and-pop grassroots sort of thing that hopefully becomes something big,” Palmer said. “I want it to become big. This area needs it and I’m going to do what I need to do to make it that.”

That includes Palmer using profits from her pet sitting business to help fund Good Samaritan Wildlife to get it off the ground.

Rescuing injured and abandoned wildlife has been a passion for Palmer. And she loves being able to make a difference.

“I’ve had phone calls from them (Pennsylvania Game Commission) about owls, captured and transported owls, turtles, squirrels, rabbits,” Palmer said. “It’s just a feeling of satisfaction that for me, an animal lover that I am, I’m sure there’s others out there that this will be a great opportunity and an open door to help wildlife.”