If your guest room is reserved for wild animals only, you and Nathou Attinger would be friends.

A landscaper by trade, Nathou’s path forever changed when a customer brought her an injured crow. Her house became a nursery, ever filling with the sick or injured animal. Her backyard populated with enclosures. Intense research, licensing and grants followed, until the Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary was born.

Rockfish now rescues, rehabilitates and releases 800 animals each year, as well as educates the public on wildlife interaction. The staff takes in just about every native Virginia species that needs help, always adapting to the needs of their current tenants.

It’s a close call, but Nathou’s favorite animal is a skunk. If you’re wondering how she came by this love of the wild, she’ll probably tell you about the picture she has of her great aunt posing with two dogs at her feet and a crow on her head. It’s just in her blood.

There is something so beautiful and pure about someone who values life in every form, who celebrates the uniqueness of every creature and advocates for them to live the best days they possibly can.

Nathou, you are the Animal Queen!