This month’s star critter is a bit different than the furry, scaly, and feathery species we’ve featured before. This particular critter is bipedal, speaks French, and greets everyone with a smile and her trademark: “Hey, buddy!” Meet our founder, Nathou Attinger.
Nathou announced her retirement from RWS earlier this past spring, and we interviewed her as our spring/summer newsletter’s main story. Here’s that interview, with some awesome additional photos, in case you missed it. Check out the whole newsletter here! ➡️ Spring/Summer Newsletter
Our fearless founder, Nathou, has dedicated her life and her home to helping animals in need. After decades of providing selfless, compassionate care for wildlife, Nathou is retiring from the Sanctuary – though, she’ll still tend to our native garden! Nathou has grown the Sanctuary from a one-woman operation at her home to a standalone facility on 20 acres, designed and built just for our lifesaving work. We now care for nearly 1,000 animals each year! Our executive director, Sarah Cooperman, interviewed Nathou to celebrate her one-of-a-kind legacy for all living creatures in Virginia.
S: So Nathou, what inspired you to start the Sanctuary?
N: Merlin inspired me! Merlin was the first crow that I ever rescued. He couldn’t fly and was being kept as a pet by someone. [This was the 90s, folks – don’t try this today!] He was magnificent and intelligent. I adored him. You know, the #1 thing that was most important to me was that all animals should be free and never kept in a cage. Merlin taught me that sometimes you gotta do it when it’s for the good of the animal. He taught me the fine line between freedom and being in an enclosure until you’re good enough to be free again.
S: What were some of the challenges you faced in the early years?
N: Working full time [running her landscaping business] and having a Sanctuary. Slowly, we had enough money to hire one person. For the first few years, though, I spent pretty much all of the money I made from my landscaping job on the animals. Actually, we used all my retirement savings to make this Sanctuary go! I’d do it again in a minute.
S: For the first decade or so, the Sanctuary operated out of your house! What was that like?
N: Well, we never used to lock the front door. People would just walk in with their animals. One time, about 2 AM, this guy came in with a wounded hawk and yells, “NATHOU! NATHOU! WAKE UP!” And there he was, in my house with a hurt hawk in his arms. Those were the kind of experiences we had. It was crazy, but it was fun.
S: Ha! How did you know it was time to move the Sanctuary out of your home?
N: When Bev [Nathou’s wife] said so. *laughs* So, that’s what happened. Poor Bev. *laughs* Also, we just had so many animals, and it gets really old having volunteers and staff in your own house from 7AM-7PM every day. That being said, Bev did so much for RWS. She was amazing. She did all the financial stuff, she paid people, did all the government paperwork. She really loves animals too! At one point, we had all the patients and also eight dogs. Can you imagine raising those animals with all those dogs? [No. We cannot.]
S: I can sure see why it was time to expand! What’s been your favorite species to work with throughout the years?
N: Skunks! They’re perfect animals. They’re the only ones I’ve ever seen really play, like kittens play. They’re beautiful and smart, and I just love them.
S: The people gotta know: have you been sprayed?!
N: Somehow, I haven’t ever been sprayed! [That’s some Nathou magic, right there!]
S: You must have many memorable rescue stories, but do you have a favorite?
N: One of my favorites was when this guy called with baby pileated woodpeckers. They were doing the electrical lines, and they’d cut the branch down and found the babies inside. The rescuer was such a lovemuffin! It was freezing cold, so he wrapped them in his hardhat and shirt, turned on his truck, and kept the babies warm until I came. I was so impressed, especially since he didn’t look like someone who’d do that. He looked like one tough dude! It’s amazing how many good people there are out there. This is what the Sanctuary has taught me. 👷♂️
Another memorable rescue was when a little boy and his mother came to the Sanctuary from Charlottesville, back when it was at my house. They had a black widow spider in a jar. The little boy had brought it to me to be rehabbed. He said, “My mom said just to give it to her, but I knew she’d kill it.” Instead, she saw how intent her son was on saving it and agreed to drive him all the way to Nelson County for it to be “rehabilitated.” We released it together in my garden. 🕷
S: What about a favorite release story?
N: I do remember when we soft-released some other pileated woodpecker patients at my house. [A soft release is when you continue to provide supplemental food or shelter for 1-2 weeks as the patient eases back to the wild.] When they wanted to eat, they’d come to the front porch and start hammering away at the door. *laughs* That still did not prevent me from soft-releasing woodpeckers there in the future!
S: In hindsight, what surprised you the most about getting the Sanctuary established?
N: I realized that if I had planned this, I never would have done it. It truly had to be something you do day to day and then you outgrow it, so you build another building. If I had planned it, it would have been so huge that it would have been impossible to establish. And it’s distracting to plan! Don’t plan, just do.
S: What are you hoping to see in the Sanctuary’s future?
N: I would love to see the Sanctuary have enough money to hire a full-time educator and build a separate education center. That’s important to me.
S: We’re excited to get to work on that! In the meantime, what are you looking forward to doing in retirement?
N: I don’t know yet! I haven’t quite found my niche yet, but I will. I’ll still be gardening at the Sanctuary plenty! I also want to go to Australia and New Zealand. I want to see the animals and the plants there. I don’t care as much about the humans. *laughs* You know what I mean!
We know exactly what you mean! Thank you, Nathou, for your commitment to every single animal who needed the Sanctuary. We are so proud to carry on your legacy and infuse your love into each patient’s care.
