Kathy Deinlein has been a volunteer with Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center since 2018. She has always had a love for animals, including wildlife (especially birds). Her first season in our program started with songbird caretaking, which then expanded into learning wildlife reception (answering phone calls from the public and helping staff with new patient admissions), and that later advanced into raptor and specialty bird rehabilitation. After a few years, Kathy was volunteering for a minimum of two shifts per week and frequently added shifts to help train or shadow with new volunteers who joined in the spring.
With time, her experience and training motivated her to take the basic wildlife rehabilitation licensing exam through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and become permitted under DCHS’s Wildlife Center sponsorship while she continued learning. Kathy shadowed our staff for 8- to 10-hour days each week alongside her animal caretaking responsibilities as a volunteer, completed various online rehabilitation training courses, and attended in-person or virtual workshops to build new skills. Recently, Kathy graduated from our sponsorship as an independent rehabilitator by obtaining her own DNR advanced wildlife rehabilitation permit and a migratory bird rehabilitation permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service so that she could rehabilitate raptors.
Kathy Deinlein has lived in the Cambridge, Wisconsin community for the past 28 years. She was the business owner of a boarding kennel for cats and dogs up until last year when she decided to transition operations and open her own wildlife rehabilitation center. Kathy and her husband Roger decided to convert the former kennel into a treatment facility for rehabilitating raptors and built new outdoor mews.
Wings Raptor Center, a 501c (3) non-profit organization, officially opened its doors on September 5th, 2025. The first patient admitted was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. The hawk was found on the side of the road unable to fly. An initial assessment indicated that this bird was weak and dehydrated and had a significant chest injury suggesting that it was possibly hit by a moving vehicle. Diagnostic test results proved that the hawk was further suffering from a high burden of internal parasites, external parasites, anemia, and an underlying infection. With consultations from DCHS staff and the help of her sponsoring wildlife veterinarian (and neighbor!), Kathy provided fluids, medical treatments, and other necessary procedures for the hawk while it stabilized in rehabilitation. It took several weeks of care and conditioning before it was ready for release. The hawk was federally banded and set free on October 16th, 2025 at the finder’s home, which was very near to the rescue location.
Kathy describes the experience: "Rehabilitation is an emotional journey. Being able to release the first patient from my own center was exhilarating and brought deep satisfaction. I felt pure joy knowing and believing that I played a temporary, but key role in helping the hawk to return home."
For those of us at DCHS who sponsor new wildlife rehabilitators in the field (i.e. Erin, Paige, Jackie, and Sarah), it brings just as much joy to share in those successful moments as it does our trainees. Together, our efforts are part of the larger mission of "helping people help animals" and collective vision to promote compassion, humane ethics, and a sense of responsibility towards maintaining coexistence between humans and wildlife.
– Kathy Deinlein, Wings Raptor Center, and Jackie Edmunds, Wildlife Program Manager at Dane County Humane Society
