NTXWC<\/a> reporting 1,400 drop-off visitors as of September, up from the 950 seen in 2024. On June 28, the center received a call from the City of Plano\u2019s business department giving it 90 days to vacate the premises.<\/p>\n![\"Opossum](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC_2919-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the worst time of my life, like it still feels uncertain,\u201d NTXWC President Rebecca Hamlin says. \u201cWorse, it\u2019s not over.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue, City staff said, was that the center, despite having all necessary permits, was generating excessive foot traffic in a residential area. Shortly after, Hamilin launched a fundraising campaign with a $250,000 goal.<\/p>\n
NTXWC was founded in 2013 by Mela Singleton and Jennifer Coats. Hamlin came into the picture four years ago after finding an opossum in her neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe joke is that I brought an opossum here four years ago and never left. But it\u2019s actually not a joke. It\u2019s very, very true,\u201d Hamlin says. \u201cHe was the first opossum that was in the sanctuary. I very passively said, \u2018I would love to rehab if you know anyone.\u2019 And the founder was like, \u2018Why are you not just telling me you want to work with me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She took her up on the offer, eventually becoming president of the nonprofit organization in 2023. A year prior, NTXWC moved from Singleton and Coats\u2019 basements into the current facility.<\/p>\n
The center provides free rehabilitation services for injured and orphaned wildlife across the region. Intake varies year-over-year, but Hamilin says they have assisted over 3,600 animals so far in 2025 and expects to reach 4,000 by December.<\/p>\n
When a person arrives with an animal at the facility, they are asked to fill out a Texas Fish and Wildlife form and describe their discovery of the animal. After that, NTXWC staff evaluate the animal to determine the level of necessary care.<\/p>\n
Hamlin says that around 40-50% of the animals they see have been orphaned. In those cases, the center\u2019s primary concern is to provide nutrition and a stable environment for them as they grow and gain weight.<\/p>\n
In other cases, NTXWC staff first determine whether or not a veterinarian is needed to treat extensive injuries. Then, if none is needed, a custom care plan is created for the animal\u2019s stay at the center. Hamlin says the average time spent at NTXWC ranges from several days to a couple of months.<\/p>\n
One of the center\u2019s most notable animals up until a few months ago was its camera-friendly ambassador, Coconut, the White Opossum. The leucitic (white, but not lacking in pigmentation as in albinism) opossum had appeared on morning news programs and celebrated his second birthday at Vector Brewing in his time as ambassador. Tragically, he passed away over the spring from illness, but has found a worthy successor in Turnip, a fellow white opossum.<\/p>\n
In August, the organization met its fundraising goal for a new facility with more than a month to spare. The center\u2019s situation had spread far and wide on social media as Hamlin appeared on NBC 5 and fundraisers were held.<\/p>\n
The center is currently in the process of finalizing loan papers for a new, decidedly nonresidential facility. Windows will need to be redone, enclosures rebuilt and privacy fences installed, which is why she plans to hold minifundraisers to support individual projects.<\/p>\n
NTXWC\u2019s future looks considerably more secure now than it did a couple of months ago. It\u2019s a crucial turnaround for Hamlin, who has cystic fibrosis and counts on its mission as much as the animals themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life expectancy is 37 years old, and my entire life, I never felt like I was gonna do something that was meaningful or impactful,\u201d Hamlin says. \u201cAnd then I started rehabbing wildlife. I found my purpose, I found my passion. And if I die at the age of 37, this is my legacy. This is my legacy. This is what I leave behind, and I don\u2019t take that lightly at all. It\u2019s a really big deal. And not every person has the privilege and the luxury to live something that they\u2019re really passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The North Texas Wildlife Center\u2019s permitted animal rehabilitation facility is moving from a quaint residential neighborhood in Plano,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-30442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}