Roanoke – All creatures great and small, Diane loved and cared for them all.

Southwest Virginia has lost one it’s greatest wildlife advocates and veterinarians.

Dr. Diane D'Orazio, 62, of Roanoke passed away after her courageous battle with breast cancer. Her family and friends say she was a fighter to the end, and inspired them all through her battle.

Dr. Diane D'Orazio working to treat one of her feathered patients.
Dr. Diane D'Orazio working to treat one of her feathered patients. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

Diane graduated from Virginia Tech with BS, MS and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees in 1985. An alumni article from the Virginia-Maryland college of Veterinary Medicine said her passion for wildlife rescue began two weeks after graduating from the veterinary school when she received her first wildlife patient. “I got a fawn who had been hit by a hay mower. I had to amputate part of her back leg and then found a sanctuary for that little deer once it grew up, and that kind of got me started,” D’Orazio said at the time.

During her life-long career caring for animals, she had the opportunity to work with both large and small animals as well as zoo animals, including Mill Mountain’s famed tiger, Ruby.

Dr. Diane D'Orazio treating an injured opossum that made a narrow escape from Mill Mountain Zoo's cougar.
Dr. Diane D'Orazio treating an injured opossum that made a narrow escape from Mill Mountain Zoo's cougar. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

Read a light-hearted story about one of Diane’s wildlife patients here.

Her passion, however, was working with wildlife. She was the first veterinarian for the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center and a volunteer at the Hawaii Wildlife Center for two years.

Diane was responsible for rehabilitating thousands of injured or orphaned animals of all kinds, and advocated for conservation efforts. From big cats to small reptiles, Diane treated them all. She had an expertise in raising and caring for chickens, and helped impoverished people overseas learn those same skills. Diane especially had a talent caring for birds, treating many hawks, eagles, owls and other birds of prey that needed care at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center in Roanoke. Seeing her work first hand was an amazing treat, as she seemed to possess a calm demeanor, almost a sixth sense, that even the most distressed animal took comfort from.

The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Executive Director Sabrina Garvin posted a statement about Diane’s passing.

“Although she may no longer be physically with us, her spirit and everything that she lived for shall forever remain in her memory. This devastating loss to humanity and animals alike, shouldn’t be met with sadness but rather admiration because Dr. Diane spent her life helping and that’s how she would want to be remembered. She worked in Africa and the US to help an innumerable amount of underprivileged people, especially children. Her thousands of volunteer hours over several decades helped save thousands of wildlife and domestic patients, and throughout her life she left indelible marks on everyone that her angelic spirit encountered," Garvin said.

Through her talents healing animals, Diane was also able to help people. Diane worked with the Carilion Clinic Hospice “Pet Peace of Mind Program,” helping hospice patients care for their pets when they were not well enough to do so themselves.

“A lot of time we see patients linger because they are worried about who is going to take care of their pet,” Diane told 10 News during an interview about the program in 2015. “Knowing their pet is taken care of allows them to pass peacefully when it is time to do so."

Not only did she work closely with many hospice patients, she knew first hand from experience with her sister who died from cancer.

Her picture was in the pamphlet for the program.

This is a clip from Diane’s interview in 2015 about the program.

Did you know a local organization will help hospice patients care for their pets and make arrangements for them after the patient passes? Veterinarian Dr. Diane D'Orazio tells the story of checking on a patient whose dog needed treatment. Knowing the dog was being cared for might have been the peace she needed.... Rachel Lucas WSLS talks to people touched by hospice and the hospice pet service --> tonight at 5pm and 6pm on WSLS 10.

Posted by WSLS 10 / WSLS.com on Friday, May 8, 2015

Diane was known for being a devoted wife, mother, sister and friend. She was able to fulfill her dream of living in Hawaii, retiring there with her husband just months before she passed.

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made to the Hawaii Wildlife Center, Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, Carilion Clinic Hospice or North Hawaii Hospice. A celebration of her life in Roanoke will be held at a later date.

Dr. Diane D'Orazio
Dr. Diane D'Orazio (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)