almost got attacked by the parent geese of the baby goose when I picked it up,” White said. “I had to run to the barn as they were chasing after me in my yard.” 

     White saw this family of wild geese hanging out in her pond. She knew she needed to keep a close eye on them because of the foxes that live nearby. A few days later, she noticed one of the baby geese was lying on its side and looked almost dead. 

     “It had a big gash on its side, a broken leg, and the majority of its feathers pulled out,” White said. 

     White’s immediate instinct was to help. She picked the baby goose up with a blanket and the parents went into a frenzy.

     “They were chasing after me as my dad stood there watching me and laughing,” White said.

     White spent the night in her barn with a heat lamp in the middle of winter last year, taking care of the baby goose. 

     “Going to the barn, as I always say, is my happy place,” White said.

     What was only supposed to be one night in the barn turned into three nights in a row.

     “[The baby goose] really needed that one-on-one rehabilitation,” White said.

     White’s natural-born instinct to care for animals made a huge difference in the life of this newborn goose who was in need of critical care.

     “It was so sweet,” White said. ‘It really warmed up to me, and I was feeding it every three hours, even in the middle of the night.”

     After about four weeks of hands-on care for this baby goose, it was healthy again. In hopes that the baby goose’s parents had not left, White and her dad built a floating platform in the middle of their pond.

     “We put a couple of branches, small shrubs and leaves on it and then put the baby goose on it,” White said.

     The parents ended up coming back for the baby goose, allowing them to be reunited again.

     “It was so great to see,” White said. “They did move on because of the foxes, but from what I know the baby goose survived.” 

     White has adopted a few of the animals in her “animal sanctuary” as pets over the years.

     On another occasion, White and her family were at her brother’s baseball game when she spotted a small kitten near the top of the bleachers.

     “The kitten was very, very small; completely skin and bones,” White said. “I thought she was a girl at the time [and] thought she was a girl for the next three years, too.”

     White was only 12 at the time, but she immediately knew she was going to be taking this little kitten home.

     “It was at the very top of the bleachers,” White said. “Mom, this cat is starving and too skinny; this cat is not going to live’.” 

     White took the cat home to her barn and named it Milo. Days later, she went to the Humane Society to get Milo a friend named Luna. 

     White’s generous heart, dedication and time has added many years to these animals' lives. 

     “I’ve never really considered not making an effort to facilitate [an animal’s] recovery,” White said. “Being able to help them is the greatest reward, so I am so thankful that I’ve had the resources to lend a helping hand.”