Deb Malewski
Contributing Writer

(Photo by Deb Malewski – Winter has gotten a second chance thanks to caring humans and the services and sanctuary of Wildside Animal Rehabilitation in Eaton Rapids.)

Wildside Animal Rehabilitation and Education founder and director Louise Sagaert has devoted her life to caring for injured and orphaned native Michigan wildlife since 1995, when she purchased property to establish an animal sanctuary. In its first year, Wildside treated approximately 300 animals. Thirty years later, the organization has grown dramatically, welcoming nearly 2,500 animals for care in 2025 alone.

One of the most recent, and very troubling arrivals is a female great horned owl now named Winter. Great horned owls are among Michigan’s most common owl species, found statewide year-round, and they do not migrate during the winter months.

Winter was discovered on December 6, 2025. She had been placed inside a seed bag and discarded in a roadside ditch in South Haven Township. A zip tie was tightly fastened around her ankle, cutting off circulation to her foot. A passerby initially believed the bag was trash before realizing there was a live owl inside. Winter was first taken to the West Michigan Wildlife Center in Grand Rapids and later transferred to Wildside in Eaton Rapids, where she is now receiving intensive care.

Winter’s condition was initially described as “guarded.” She suffers from partial blindness, head trauma, and significant vascular damage to her foot, which remains swollen and inflamed. Sagaert and her team are treating her with medications and antibiotics, soaking the injured foot several times daily in chlorhexidine and applying silver sulfadiazine to reduce infection and swelling. 

Winter is also hand-fed by Wildside volunteers to ensure she receives proper nutrition.

Although her foot is healing and she is able to stand and walk, her injuries mean Winter will not be able to survive in the wild. Wildside customarily releases animals back into the area where they were found, but due to her blindness, release is not possible in this case.

Sagaert hopes Winter may have a future as an educational ambassador at a nature center in the Grand Rapids area, where she could help teach the public about wildlife and conservation.

Sagaert is unsure how Winter ended up in the feed bag. “I’m wondering if she was caught as a baby and the zip tie was placed on her leg back then,” she said. “As she grew, the band may have tightened around her foot.” Another possibility, Sagaert noted, is that Winter entered someone’s chicken coop and was deliberately restrained as punishment.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has investigated Winter’s abuse case but has been unable to identify any suspects. Anyone with information is urged to contact the DNR’s Report All Poaching hotline by phone or text at 1-800-292-7800. Sagaert hopes that someone with a conscience will come forward with information about what happened to Winter.

Financial assistance is always needed at Wildside to help cover the costs of food, medication, and ongoing care for animals like Winter. Owls feed on venison, small rodents, birds, and occasionally larger animals such as rabbits and squirrels. Winter, along with many other animals currently at Wildside, eats venison. Hunters with deer meat are encouraged to consider donating, and Wildside will pay for processing costs. The animals require whole muscle meat, not ground venison.

Volunteers are also needed to assist with daily care, including feeding, cleaning, and administering medications.

Wildside is also fundraising to build an Ambassador Village for its raptors, which will include four separate enclosures. The organization has received a $26,000 grant from the Capital Area Community Foundation toward the $36,000 needed to construct a 40-foot flight cage for a bald eagle named Michigan, who is being trained as a school ambassador by Wildside volunteer Michael Mattoon.

In addition to her work at Wildside, Sagaert has dedicated 40 years to education as a special education teacher at Eaton Rapids High School and Middle School, another reflection of a lifetime spent caring for and advocating on behalf of others.

Donations may be mailed to Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center, 8601 Houston Road, Eaton Rapids, 48827.

Wildside is open 365 days a year. For more information, call 517-663-6153.