Over 30 years ago, Sam Fox read “A Place for Owls” by Kay McKeever, a well-known owl rehabilitator in Ontario, Canada. The escapades of “Granny,” a Spectacled Owl, along with her human caregivers, were touching, inspiring, and often hilarious. This story explains how “imprinting” happens when human-raised birds bond with their caretakers and cannot recognize their own species. An example of this was two owls in the story, who didn’t know they were owls, believed they were human and were frightened by other owls.

In wildlife rehabilitation, only completely healed birds can be reintroduced to the wild. Unfortunately, “Granny” could not be released and instead became a permanent resident within the McKeever compound. Granny becomes a foster parent to help raise abandoned or injured young birds in hopes of their future return to the open skies. It was here that Sam Fox was introduced to the concept of ‘bird foster parenting’.

At the time, Sam was fairly new to wildlife rehab, volunteering at the Arizona Game and Fish Wildlife Center. With a bit of persuasion, the center’s director gave her permission to initiate a foster parenting program “as soon as a suitable bird was found.” Soon after, in 1991, a critically ill, six-week-old barn owl with severe wing and leg injuries arrived. Sam was permitted to care for him at her home and told, “if he lived, she could try to make a foster parent out of him!” She and her husband Bob would try to nurse him back to health.

It soon became apparent that this injured baby owl, named Chia, would need extensive medical care. Arizona Game and Fish was unwilling to spend their resources on Chia’s prolonged medical care, so Sam and Bob chose to take him to their veterinarian, Dr. Irv Ingram and paid out-of-pocket.

Chia proved to be a fighter as he willingly endured months of treatment. Many times it was said that he might not survive. Yet, against all odds and to the amazement of the veterinarian team, Chia survived and grew to be a beautiful young male.

Even though Chia became “healthy,” his wings and leg were forever compromised; he would never fly, and he walked with a limp. An aviary was built for Chia in Sam and Bob’s backyard, and Chia moved in. In the coming spring’s ‘baby season’, Chia successfully raised his first group of 14 displaced nestlings as a single father and all 14 nestlings were released back into the wild!

For Chia to stay with Sam and Bob permanently, special permits from the AZ Game and Fish and US Fish & Wildlife Service were required. That was not an easy task and would require an enormous commitment. Sam and Bob decided if they were going to go to the trouble to get permits for one Barn Owl, why not start their own Raptor-only rescue and rehabilitation center? In 1993, state and federal permits were granted, and Wild at Heart was incorporated as a nonprofit entity. Sam and Bob Fox would then dedicate their lives to caring for these WILD and beautiful creatures.

Chia indeed was a gentle, devoted father to his adopted family. Over the following eleven years, Chia and his mate, Tyta, became foster dad and mom to hundreds of baby barn owls. Through his example, Chia would become the avian forerunner of foster parenting at Wild At Heart and in the state of Arizona. The success of Chia encouraged other Arizona rehabbers to utilize non-releasable birds and mammals as surrogate parents.

It is with a heavy heart to share that Sam Fox, who co-founded Wild at Heart Raptor Rescue in Cave Creek, passed away at the age of 73 on December 31, 2020, after battling long-term health issues. Although it’s a painful loss, her wildlife legacy is monumental.

A pillar in the wildlife conservation community, Sam leaves big shoes to fill having saved more than 12,000 raptors since 1993 and rescued countless other desert creatures while operating 24/7 as an unofficial wildlife 911 for Arizona. Her dedication to raptors pushed the boundaries for what was deemed possible in rehabilitation.

Sam’s main philosophy was that all she wanted out of life was to leave the world a little better place than it was when she got there. She would advise everyone to do one good thing each day. As a wildlife rehab pioneer, Sam always thought out-of-the-box. She was a very strong-minded, strong-willed person, who believed if you put your mind to it then you could get it done. Sam has been missed dearly every day by humans and raptors alike.