A Day in the Wildlife hosted by DAWN

You’ve probably seen it many times and never thought much about it. That cute little fuzzy duckling on the bottle of Dawn ultra liquid dish soap. If you’re like me, then you probably assumed that the duckling was just a metaphor for Dawn’s gentle softness despite its ‘tough on grease’ cleaning power. Yet for those of us who are a bit more observant, you’ve probably noticed the adjacent writing that says “Dawn Helps SAVE Wildlife.”

Well, after being invited Dawn’s “Day in the Wildlife,” an event celebrating World Animal Day on Saturday, October 4th, I learned first hand all about that little duckling and Dawn’s involvement with wildlife rescue. You see when issues involving oil spills occur, the International Bird Rescue (IBR) relies on Dawn to get birds clean because it’s soft on feathers and tough on grease.

Now when I heard all this I couldn’t help but ask, “Why Dawn?” Well the answer, as I learned, takes us back to 1978 when the IBR founder, Alice Berkner, secured a Chevron grant to test all major dish soaps for cleaning birds. The verdict? Dawn worked the best at cutting the oil faster than any other soap. So after receiving regular calls from oil spill volunteers (of which there are nearly 100,00 volunteers currently serving on a daily basis saving the lived of tens of thousand of animals each year), Dawn donated product on a request by request basis until 1988 when Dawn began a partnership with the IBR and other wildlife rescue organizations. 

In addition to this mini history lesson I experienced a whole afternoon’s worth of activities during the International Bird Rescue event in San Pedro, California. After meeting actor and animal advocates Adrian Grenier and Keegan Allen, we took an exclusive tour of the facility and shadowed veteran volunteers for a behind-the-scenes look at the work involved in operating a wildlife rescue organization including a final wing-exam for a Pelican! To culminate the World Animal Day celebration, Keegan and Adrian participated in the release of nine rehabilitated birds back into the wild – including that California Brown Pelican from earlier in the day — heir rehabilitation and recovery of which was made possible thanks to IBR volunteers and staff.

“The well-being of animals and wildlife is a deep passion of mine and I spend a lot of time advocating for their health and safety through various projects,” said actor Adrian Grenier after I chatted him up post-pelican release. “World Animal Day is the ideal time to honor the volunteers at International Bird Rescue and The Marine Mammal Center who selflessly help rescue and rehabilitate marine birds and mammals from around the world.”

I am so grateful to have gotten to join this World Animal Day celebration at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro, California. Nothing is more thrilling than to see rehabilitated birds released back into the wild. I’ll never look at a bottle of Dawn dish soap the same way again either. 

If you want to experience what it’s like to be a volunteer rescue worker helping to save oiled animals in need, check out Dawn’s Virtual Volunteer Youtube video below.

[infobox]The Official World Animal Day is this Saturday, October 4th.[/infobox]

For more information about the Dawn family of products and how to get involved in helping save wildlife in big or small ways, visit www.dawn-dish.com. You can also share your experiences by tagging #DawnDayintheWildlife on Facebook or Twitter.

Thank you to Dawn for inviting me out to cover this event. All opinions remain my own.