In the backyard of Diana Shaffer's small, white, Yorktown house, miracles happen.
She nurtures more than 500 birds and 150 other small animals and releases them into the sky and Indiana's woodlands each year. Nine outdoor cages and a building house them.
Shaffer, nicknamed "the bird lady," keeps the animals in a building directly behind her house. Wire cages that hold different types of birds line the walls from the ceiling to the floor. They all seem to sing to one another as she prepares to clean their cages. A white miniature refrigerator sits in the front left corner filled with hundreds of dead rats. A dozen blue, gray and white carrier cages sit on an a shelf that extends over the top of the cages. Newspapers sit in a scattered stack on an old brown bedroom dresser. She gently walks on the white vinyl flooring that goes down the center of the walkway and opens the cage doors. She steps inside, softly chatting with each bird as she cleans their cage.
"Everyone pretty much knows about the bird lady and the Resqu Haus," Shaffer said.
Shaffer, 65, established the Wildlife Resqu Haus, Inc. 40 years ago. Since then she's housed more than 7,000 animals. Shaffer officially named the Wildlife Resqu Haus in 1964 after an old pet St. Bernard she got from the Resqu Haus in Switzerland, and it earned not-for-profit status the same year. Today, the center includes nine outdoor cages and an "intensive care" ward.
Shaffer worked 12-hour days as a full-time surgical nurse for several years to collect funds for the organization. For 10 years she joined the late painter Bob Ross on a WIPB program taped at Ball State University. Shaffer would bring an animal on the show, provide information about it, and he would paint it. This eventually led her to an award-winning national show called "A Friend of the Wild." She has kept a scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings, photos, certificates, letters and other collected memorabilia.
Shaffer has been teaching birds to fly since she was a child and has always had an interest in animals. The center started out with only a few birds and grew by word of mouth.
"The best part of this job is releasing them and giving them their freedom, and the worst is making the decision to destroy them," Shaffer said.
After she set her first bird free she learned the hard way she needed a license for her new hobby. In the early 70's, two federal agents knocked on her door with a warrant for her arrest and a $5,000 fine. She pleaded with them by explaining she didn't know about the requirements. The charges were eventually dropped after she attained the appropriate license. At the time, she was one of six rehabilitators with an eagle's license in the United States and was one of the first in Indiana. She now carries over a dozen licenses tucked away in her purse.
Her patients come from concerned citizens all over the state. The Resqu Haus is responsible for 17 Indiana counties, starting at the Indiana/Ohio line to west of Indianapolis, south of Hancock County and north to Huntington County.
She receives everything from bald eagles to hummingbirds, deer to weasels and golden eagles to sand hill cranes. They are brought in cars, on bicycles, motorcycles and even walking.
There isn't any consistency with arrivals. Shaffer said she can go for days with no calls and drop offs, and then the next day get 30 bunnies delivered. In the spring she gathers as many as 40 animals daily.
When she receives a bird she gives them a complete physical examination inspecting the feathers and beaks.
She works with Muncie veterinarian Dr. Dawn Hess, whom provides rehabilitative medical care, to help her release the animals back into Indiana's woodlands, waters and skies. Shaffer gained her knowledge of animals by reading books and through personal experiences.
"It's amazing what you learn by just watching them and how they act," Shaffer said.
The cost of operating the center started out minimal but has increased over the years, Shaffer said.
She also works with Ball State professor Barbara Stedman. Stedman has been a volunteer since 1997. She basically takes the overload of small mammals and birds, and maintains the operation when Shaffer is on vacation for a couple weeks each summer. Stedman hopes to attain her national license to work with the bigger animals. She will also be available to keep the Resqu Haus going when Shaffer decides she doesn't want to do it anymore.
"Diana is so well-known in this region," Stedman said. "Everyone knows who the bird lady is. I've been telling everyone that I'm the rodent woman."
The majority of her supplies were donated or were purchased with grants. The food would be one of the bigger expenses for her, but it is donated. The birds eat 1500 rats each month, which would cost $3 per rat. The cages were constructed with money from a grant. She spends $5,000 to $6,000 a year out of her own funds.
"The most amazing thing is that she has been doing this for so many years," Stedman said. "You figure most of the money spent on the Resqu Haus comes out of her own pocket. Some volunteers have came along and she works with some local veterinarians, but essentially this has been a one woman operation. I think the fact that she can do everything and still be happy is also amazing. No matter what, she consistently remains positive."
She also provides approximately 50 educational programs each year for freewill donations to schools, civic groups and other audiences. She teaches them about respecting animals and each other for a better world.
The donations vary from location to location. Once she drove 80 to 90 miles and put on a program for several hundred people and received $7.-áThe donation would disappoint most, but not Shaffer.
"If one kid learns from what I talk about then it's worth it," she said. "It's amazing. I've had kids come here years, years later and tell me they listened to one of my programs, and they're in vet school now because of what I taught them."
Five permanent residents play a vital role in her educational programs. Windwalker, a red-tailed hawk, has been with Shaffer for 17 years while Furbee, a screech owl, has been there his entire life of seven years. A great-horned owl, three-legged toad and a barred owl join them. Each of the permanent residents have names. She admits she sometimes gets emotionally attached to the animals.
As demand for shelter at the Resqu Haus is continuing to increase, construction is underway on a new building that will provide large indoor cages, an exam table, a heater and running water: Four necessities the current building doesn't have. She currently carries 5-gallon buckets of water to the cages and uses a spare bedroom in her house as an exam room. The building should be completed in early spring.
The Robert Cooper Audubon Society is sponsoring a Building for the Birds Campaign, hoping to raise $17,000 for the Resqu Haus expansion. Stedman serves as the president of the organization which is comprised of 13 volunteers. The society has been distributing campaign brochures in eight different counties and has raised over $2,000 through donations and animal adoptions.
The Resqu Haus requires time and dedication. Shaffer spends at least eight hours a day cleaning cages, providing the animals with special diets and building temporary housing. Her husband John Shaffer repairs cages, does minor construction projects and supports her and the center.
"You have to be a little crazy to do this," she said. "But it's totally worth it," she said.
Volunteers are welcome to come for as little as an hour and clean cages or help with feeding.
For the new year, Shaffer's set some goals. She hopes to get the new building finished in the spring, get the backyard in order and take care of whatever she can. One thing is for sure: she'll continue to perform miracles in that backyard.
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