FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Wendy Leeds

Paul Clinton

It’s tough love all the way for Wendy Leeds.

The Costa Mesa resident who works with injured marine mammals treated

by Friends of the Sea Lion said it’s important to have minimal human

contact with the animals.

Leeds, 24, must also refrain from calling the sea lions at the group’s

Laguna Beach sanctuary by their names.

“They all do have names,” Leeds said. “But we don’t address [the

animals]. We don’t want to domesticate the animals at all.”

If the sea lions and other mammals treated by the group aren’t

cuddled, they’ll have an easier time adjusting to their natural habitat

when released off the shoreline.

Founded in 1971, the group rescues injured marine mammals that wash up

on Orange County beaches. In addition to the sea lions, the group rescues

elephant seals and harbor seals. Friends also seeks to educate county

beachgoers about the marine ecosystem.

As for Leeds, she’s focused on her individual contribution -- which

usually involves spending her Sundays at the animal sanctuary to feed and

care for the animals.

She’s seen some disturbing things, including animals with injured and

missing appendages. She’s seen wounds caused by fire arms, fishing hooks

and blunt objects.

To stomach it, Leeds said she has developed a tough exterior.

“Most of the animals we see are pups,” Leeds said. “It’s hard work,

but there are great rewards.”

The animals wash up on the shoreline all across the county, but Corona

del Mar and Crystal Cove are the two most familiar spots to Leeds on the

Newport Beach coastline.

Leeds enlisted herself in the group in 1996, not long after graduating

from University High School in Irvine. At the school, Leeds was inspired

by a biology teacher to explore the physical world around her.

Volunteerism feeds her curiosity about nature and nurtures her will to

offer her own free time to the group, she said.

“You feel like you’re giving something back to the environment,” Leeds

said. “It’s one of those feel-good kind of things.”