Our History

A History of Caring for Animals in Brevard County

In 1973, beginning as a dream to return wildlife to the wild, Carlton and Gladys Teate started the Florida Wildlife Hospital (FWH) to care for sick and injured animals.  For many years they cared for wildlife at their home on Otter Creek Lane in Melbourne and partnered with South Brevard Humane Society.

After going through location and management changes, the facility reopened on the current site in Palm Shores, Florida in February of 1998, working out of the house in the front of the property.

The new hospital was built, debt-free, in 2003, necessitated by the widening of US Highway 1.  Throughout all the changes, the mission has remained the same: to aid sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife and return them to their place in the ecosystem.

The original back-porch operation with all volunteers has matured from the humble beginnings to a state-of-the-art wildlife rehabilitation facility with full-time staffing and a growing network of volunteers.

Hand-in-hand with the growing rehab activity, FWH is helping neighbors throughout the service area better understand wildlife and coexist more positively.

FWH fields questions from the community regarding wildlife, provides educational programs for school groups and the public, and offers rewarding volunteer opportunities.  We work closely with Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control and Florida Fish and Wildlife as well as other wildlife rehabilitators and animal welfare groups in the state.