Kaye Baxter was a survivor herself. She beat two bouts of cancer before finally succumbing to lung cancer on July 4th (read the full story here). Her dying wish was that the Sarvey Wildlife Hospital she founded would live on to care for injured and orphaned animals for generations to come.

Walking through the property on the outskirts of Arlington you're greeted by a couple of friendly dogs, the screech of an eagle or two, and at a constant flurry of volunteers and visitors caring for a steady stream of animals. There's the baby otter found orphaned on the side of a road. The red tail hawk, unable to fly or even feed itself after suffering a mysterious eye injury. And then there are those animals that have been abused, even tortured by humans. From lowly rats to majestic eagles, Baxter saw them all as equals and dedicated her life to caring for each and every one. The numbers have grown steadily over the years. From a few hundred in 1988 to more than 4,000 last year; and as our encroachment into native habitats increase, so do the numbers seen at Sarvey.

The hospital has always existed on a shoestring budget. The center has faced closure several times over the past decade, but the community has always responded. Baxter ended up taking out a reverse mortgage on her house to help pay the bills. Now that she's gone, the money is due. Baxter's son has agreed to take over payments on the mortgage, but to be able to afford that he needs to sell the adjacent property -- where the animal hospital currently sits. No one wants to sell to an outside buyer, so the son is hoping that they can raise enough in donations to put the house in a trust. But the amount - $400,000 - is formidable, especially in our current economy.

No one at Sarvey is screaming "the sky is falling" just yet, but if they don't raise the money needed the center could have to close. That would mean the small handful of wildlife hospitals across the state would have to accept more of the burden. In all likelihood that means fewer animals would get the treatment they need, and certainly many more will die. One of Baxter's dying wishes was that if people wanted to send flowers of condolence, they should instead send that money to save Sarvey. For a woman who lived every day to give life to the countless creatures she considered her "family" there would be no greater way to honor Baxter than to help her establish a living legacy for generations to come.