Up Front With Sara Parker Pauley

As a child, I was a voracious reader and would devour everything from the Nancy Drew series to the western sagas told by Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour. One of my favorite writers was Alf Wight, who went by the pen name James Herriot. He wrote the well-known series of novels about being an English veterinarian with tales of the people and animals he cared for. His first novel, All Creatures Great and Small, was my favorite.

I thought of this title last week as I was walking outside with a refilled hummingbird feeder in hand. It was about dusk, and the hummers were frantically buzzing about, circling, chasing each other to and fro. I wondered what would happen if I just stood still with the feeder on the palm of my hand. It didn’t take long for a tiny ruby-throated hummer to daringly come right in for a drink. How beautiful and perfect this small creature was — just inches from me. All creatures great and small, I thought.

You’ll read a wonderful story this month about our own wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Sherri Russell (see A Day in the Life of a Wildlife Veterinarian on Page 16), who has the incredible responsibility of serving our citizens and our wildlife. She reminds me of a modern-day Dr. Herriot because of her kind heart, inquisitive mind, and exceptional caretaking of our precious wild creatures, regardless of their size or stature.

Sara Parker Pauley, Director