It was a sunny Saturday morning when
James, one of the rehabbers working with Wildlife Care of Ventura County, received the panicky call from a lady in South Pasadena.
The woman had found a sick, wild parrot and was eager to find help for it. James urged her to bring the bird right in to his Burbank "clinic," which consisted of a small portion of his garage, and which, in earlier days, had functioned as a work out room, a music studio but which was now mostly a storage area.
She did as he suggested and stood by as he examined the bird on his makeshift examining table, surrounded by animal carriers containing more of Mother Nature's small, injured and orphaned wild critters. He soon determined that the bird was seriously ill, perhaps poisoned and as he shared his impressions with the good Samaritan, he noticed how upset she was getting.
He tried some playful teasing in an attempt to lift her mood, but it didn't work, and when the bird died moments later, her upset was replaced by more intense weeping. Apologizing,
Mieke Kramer reveals that her 14-year-old daughter,
Marieke Douridas, had died a few months before. Like her mother, Marieke had always been very concerned about the wildlife around her and, together, they had often taken care of stray animals they had found. Now she was suddenly and tragically gone and the death of a wild parrot had brought back a flood of emotion.
In loving tribute to her memory, many friends, relatives and even strangers had sent Marieke's family money to pay for emergency medical and funeral expenses. After these expenses were paid off, a sizable sum remained in a memorial fund and the family had not yet decided how best to use this money. Not until, that is, Mieke took another look around the very limited, cramped space in which James was doing the best he could to heal the wild creatures brought to him for care. She suddenly knew exactly where to put those funds to work,- a way she knew Marieke would be delighted with: they would help James create a large, modernized treatment space for him to do his healing work. Without too much difficulty, she was able to get her long time companion,
Jim Tavares, and Marieke's father,
Chris Douridas, to agree with her idea.
With the family's generous donation, James immediately set to work designing his new clinic. Rallying his friends and supporters, within weeks his garage had been emptied and gutted, new drywall and paint applied, new lighting, plumbing and cabinetry installed. He even had a friend add 5 inches to the legs of a new examining table so that his back would be spared the aches associated with leaning over a too low table.
On February 18 th ,2007 all those who had lent a hand in it's creation gathered to dedicate "Miss Marieke's Critter Clinic". James provided a ceremonial blessing of his new, efficient work space and Marieke's mother unveiled the plaque which will remain hung on the clinic wall, reminding us all and forever that "The light of her love lives on".