Internships, externships and training opportunities

Internships, externships and volunteer training opportunities are available for veterinary and pre-vet students, LVT students, veterinarians, Class I rehabilitators looking to get their RVS licenses and members of the public considering becoming licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

CE credits may be available depending on your institution. Housing options are available.

We are currently accepting applications for Spring and Summer of 2025. At this point in time, clinical veterinary cases are limited. The majority of the work involved in current internships is rehabilitative in nature (i.e. general husbandry, bottle feeding, cleaning and learning about/caring for baby raccoons).

Note: Gordon Wildlife’s Baby Bootcamp qualifies as a 3 credit summer internship for Jefferson Community College’s Zoo Technology Program, and for up to 300 hours/3 credits with University of Georgia’s Wildlife Program at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Contact us to discuss your program’s needs.

Learn More

Gordon Graduates:
Profiles of some of our past interns and assistants

now working with wildlife beyond our walls.

  • Morgan Peppenelli

    Morgan was our very first intern here at Gordon Wildlife. At that time she was an assistant at a local animal hospital, looking to build upon her experience before applying to veterinary school.

    Despite her incredibly demanding schedule, Morgan studied to get her Class I rehabilitation license in order to better assist us, and she continued to give us her all here, coming to work faithfully and doing an impeccable job caring for the raccoons. She never cut corners and was always smiling (even the day that we caught her muttering “so much POOP…” to herself as she was rounding the corner).

    Morgan credits her experience at Gordon Wildlife as being instrumental in driving her to attain her RVS license.

    Morgan is now approaching the completion of veterinary school, where she continues to pursue her passion for wildlife in addition to small animal care. Her compassion, integrity, work ethic, and great animal instincts make her a true gift to all the animals in her care and we are proud to have been a stepping stone along her pathway. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Dr. Peppenelli (DVM) back to the area.

  • Kate (Kathleen) Hannon

    A retired zookeeper with a national reputation for her pioneering work with red pandas, Kate is an accomplished rehabber with a love of raccoons that runs as deeply as ours. We were fortunate to cross paths with Kate during the waiting period for her eligibility for her RVS license, when she approached us hoping to gain some hands-on experience with raccoons. We jumped at the chance to bring her on board here as a licensed assistant. Working together with Kate that year cemented our relationship as like-minded and like-acting souls. We learned as much from her as she did from us.

    As planned, Kate went on to get her own RVS II license and found her own facility, Mission Mayhem Wildlife Rehabilitation. Our two centers continue to consult with each other regularly on cases and to collaborate on education, outreach and other programming endeavors.

    Kate sits alongside our Executive Director on the Board of the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.

  • Rosalyn Bandy

    A lifelong animal and nature lover, Roz approached us a few years ago, asking if she might become an assistant. She thought she would volunteer a bit here and there in her spare time, maybe washing laundry or doing dishes.

    Well, the raccoons quickly got her in their sights and under their spell. It took maybe two of these casual visits, before Roz began making multiple daily trips a week to come care for the raccoons. Another month in and she had signed up to take the certification exam to become licensed in her own right. Fast forward a few years and Roz is now about to receive her own RVS license and has gone all-in even further, joining us here on our Board of Directors.

    Well played, you crazy coons, Roz was a great choice to help you build your Empire!

    We are delighted to have helped inspire Roz on her way to discovering her love of raccoons and we are always happy to produce another RVS rehabilitator out there in the field. While we miss having her at work here in a hands-on capacity, we are happy she is doing even more to serve the raccoons of NY State and we are very grateful for all she continues to do for Gordon Wildlife on our Board of Directors.