>Since returning to Orlando, he has befriended a handful of animal rehabilitators. He has converted his suburban back yard into a rehab center for two orphaned baby squirrels, a fox squirrel and a crow with a smashed wing.
>''I don't use the pool, but it sure makes a nice view for them,'' he noted. Inside, his Jacuzzi houses an epileptic squirrel. Ross, it seems, hasn't much use for pools or Jacuzzis.
>In the same way, this mild-mannered man cares for his viewers. When regular letter-writers fall out of touch, Ross has been known to phone them, just to see if they're OK. At Christmas, he sends paintings to letter-writers whose stories have touched him most during the year. Not only does he cheer them up, but he gives away paintings - most of which cannot be bought because he donates them to PBS stations to auction off during fund-raisers.
>''I don't intimidate anyone. Instead, I try to get people to believe in themselves. I tell people, 'You can do this.' And they write back and say, 'You were right. I can do this. And now I believe I can do anything.'
>''And that's where it starts. You have to believe in yourself.''
