Alaqua Animal Refuge announced that Marisa Milford is their Animal Hero of the Month.

When you speak with this 13-year-old, you would think she’s been saving animals all her life… and, well, that’s because she has.

“Ever since I could hold a bottle for a baby squirrel, I have rescued animals,” said Marisa.

Marisa has health issues of her own that she has dealt with, but she certainly doesn’t let her own problems stop her from being an animal hero. In fact, she said that it brings her closer to the animals because she understands their pain and has learned to be patient.

“No one is giving her advice,” said her mother, Marjorie Milford. “She just seems to know what to do.”

With her parents’ encouragement, she recently established White Oak Animal Rescue, after her most recent rescue in White Oak Cemetery. But Marisa doesn’t just save dogs and cats — she has saved everything from baby squirrels to bats. She even trained two rescued starlings to find termites in nearby logs so they could survive on their own.

You can help Marisa raise funds for animal rescue and the related medical expenses by making an online donation.

Marisa has a huge heart and never passes by an animal in need. So when two pit bulls were dumped on her street and no one could catch them, Marisa stepped in. She understood what the dogs would respond to and they understood that she was there to rescue them. This wasn’t the first or last time Marisa would lie down on the ground and wait for the dogs to come to her.

She took the pit bulls in, went on to create an adoption process and designed a contract that would require adopters to have the animal vetted within 15 days of adoption. However, the man who adopted the pit bulls did not honor his contract and Marisa found one of the pit bulls at the local shelter just four weeks later. For the first time, Marisa paid the adoption fee with her own money to save Nina, the pit bull, from euthanasia.

Marisa once found a puppy that had been shot at point-blank range. She named the puppy Abby and fostered her while she healed. At that point, Marisa contacted Alaqua to help find Abby a home.

For these reasons and more, Alaqua said that they are very proud to name Marisa Milford their Animal Hero of the Month.

Editor’s Note: It was important to Marisa that we highlight the assistance provided by Lori Brown of Bay County Wilderness Dogs in Need and Linda Williams of K9 Services in her rescue attempts and adventures.

For more info, please visit Alaqua Animal Refuge or call 850-880-6399.