Calamity Jane’s Wildlife Rescue in Amboy facing closure after 29 years

AMBOY – A longtime Amboy wildlife rescuer is fighting to save her home, her animals and the animal rescue she built over almost three decades.

Jane Hochstatter has dedicated her life to saving orphaned and injured wildlife in northwest Illinois. But now, the founder of Calamity Jane’s Wildlife Rescue is facing homelessness and the closure of the rescue that she has poured her heart and soul into.

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Jane Hochstatter rescues and raises the raccoons until they are fit to return to the wild. Here she gets affection Thursday, June 26, 2025, from one of her friends. (Alex T. Paschal)

Although Calamity Jane’s is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Hochstatter said it is considered a private rescue licensed by the state.

“Interaction with the wildlife is only allowed at my facility,” Hochstatter said. “They cannot be out in public for teaching or anything outside my rescue.”

Hochstatter currently rents a 120-year-old farmhouse in Amboy, where she cares for 45 raccoons, along with her own rescued dogs and cats – several of them disabled. With the property sold in March, Hochstatter must vacate by Sept. 30, leaving her without a place to live or to continue her work.

“My raccoons have to be with me until late August, mid-September,” Hochstatter said. “I’ll try to get them all released back into the timber by Sept. 15, and I have to move out by Sept. 30.”

Despite the news, Hochstatter expressed gratitude for the support that she has had until now.

“As upset as I am to lose my home, I’m very grateful for my landlord allowing me to continue my rescue for the past 10 years here, saving countless lives,” Hochstatter said.

But without a permanent solution, her work may end for good.

“I’ve got a couple things in the works that I’m going to try to do to help myself, because I live on a fixed income,” Hochstatter said. “I do not have the money for a down payment to buy another place to live, and so I’m raising money to get enough for a down payment so I can purchase a small farmhouse.”

Hochstatter is hoping to raise $25,000 to $30,000 to put in an offer on a modest home – ideally something with about 3 acres and outbuildings for the animals.

“The house doesn’t need to be big,” Hochstatter said. “But I need room for the animals.”

Hochstatter must now begin the process of packing and preparing to move – while managing congestive heart failure and severe spinal issues. She already has had to turn away more than 60 orphaned animals this year.

“I just can’t take them because I have to pack up my entire life and start moving,” Hochstatter said.

If Hochstatter cannot secure a new home, the wildlife currently in her care still will be released into timberland that she has access to – but her personal rescues are another story.

“The raccoons will all be released, but my dogs and my cats – pretty much are all rescues, and some of the cats are disabled,” Hochstatter said. “That’s why I want to purchase a home. I don’t want to rent. I’m a grandmother of 12 and a great-grandmother of two, and I really don’t want to live under somebody else’s roof and have this ever happen again.”

Hochstatter started Calamity Jane’s Wildlife Rescue after a chance encounter 30 years ago, when she rescued two baby raccoons while working on a roofing job.

“They were my first two babies, George and Charlie. They started it all,” Hochstatter said.

Since then, Hochstatter has run the rescue on her own, caring for hundreds of animals a year – from raccoons and squirrels to opossums. She often administers medical care herself using skills learned from fellow rehabbers and an extensive national network.

“I am the only rehabber until you get to Rockford,” Hochstatter said. “So it’s pretty much Princeton to the entire northwest Illinois. Pretty much the area I cover, and it’s just too much.”

Although Hochstatter was diagnosed with congestive heart failure two years ago and told to retire, she refuses to stop. She also has set up a GoFundMe page.

“I’m heartbroken and afraid I’ll be homeless with my rescues,” Hochstatter wrote in a recent message. “I love what I do so much and want to continue my work with these tiny orphaned souls.”