A few days ago I posted about a redtailed hawk that my hubby and I had rescued. http://eroticpen.blogspot.com/2009/10/it-was-good-day-but.html
I got the call yesterday ...
The poor thing's wing would never recover from the damage to it. They did an x-ray and it was dislocated, so they tried to relocate the wrist joint, but the damage around the area was too extensive.
They had gotten him rehydrated and he was eating, but he wasn't doing well in captivity. So they had to put him down.
I tell myself that it really was the best thing, that now he isn't suffering. And wild animals are meant to be wild, not live in cages just because it hurts us to have to do what's in their best interests.
So I cried, but I also felt good knowing that the hawk was put down in a safe, warm environment, and that it was humane. Letting him starve to death would have been cruel. So I am glad that we went a got him, and that we dealt with the inconvenience of missing a couple of classes to get him to the rehab center.
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
It was a good day, but ...
Around 1:30 pm today I got a call from the nature center I volunteer at. They needed a pick-up of an injured red-tailed hawk in my area, and it needed to be transported the hour or so up to KC.
So I called hubby, who had just gotten to the campus for class and let him know we had been called in to do a rescue. It was our first. A few months we had gotten a call about a Barred Owl, but another volunteer caught the call before we could get back to them.
So we gathered everything we needed, after letting professors know we wouldn't make it to our classes, and set off for a little town about 12 miles north of us. (I LUV my profs. Bio/Earth Sci rocks. No a one batted an eye at us needing to miss class to rescue an injured animal)
We collected the hawk and got it up to KC, and let me tell you, it felt good to do this. I am a raptor lover, I just think the birds of prey are cool. So to get to help one like this was an awe inspiring moment for me. It's one thing to cut up food and clean cages and all at the rehab center and something quite different to have one sitting in a pet carrier in the back seat giving you the evil eye while you are driving it to be cared for.
Unfortunately, it's leg was broke, and looks to be an older break. So it had been able to work around it. But it's wing also got damaged by a car and it looks to be an older bird. They are taking it for x-rays tomorrow to see if rehabbing it is a viable option.
We try very hard to save all of the animals we can. But when a wing is damaged so badly that it will never mend in such a way that the bird will fly again, and when it is an older bird and would not tolerate captivity (for such things as being an education animal) then it is more humane to put it down.
The poor thing was half starved, massively dehydrated, and pretty badly beat up. Collision with car will do that.
Supposed to get a call tomorrow, and I am crossing my fingers it will be good news. But I fear for the worst.
But even if it does have to be put down, it is a heck of a lot better than it starving to death.
The lady who found the bird did the right thing too. She called around and got it help, she kept it in an area away from domestic animals, and she didn't try to feed or water it. Sometimes, letting a wild animal go without for a few hours is a lot better than feeding it the wrong thing.
So all in all, it was a good day. But I worry about what tomorrow will bring ...
So I called hubby, who had just gotten to the campus for class and let him know we had been called in to do a rescue. It was our first. A few months we had gotten a call about a Barred Owl, but another volunteer caught the call before we could get back to them.
So we gathered everything we needed, after letting professors know we wouldn't make it to our classes, and set off for a little town about 12 miles north of us. (I LUV my profs. Bio/Earth Sci rocks. No a one batted an eye at us needing to miss class to rescue an injured animal)
We collected the hawk and got it up to KC, and let me tell you, it felt good to do this. I am a raptor lover, I just think the birds of prey are cool. So to get to help one like this was an awe inspiring moment for me. It's one thing to cut up food and clean cages and all at the rehab center and something quite different to have one sitting in a pet carrier in the back seat giving you the evil eye while you are driving it to be cared for.
Unfortunately, it's leg was broke, and looks to be an older break. So it had been able to work around it. But it's wing also got damaged by a car and it looks to be an older bird. They are taking it for x-rays tomorrow to see if rehabbing it is a viable option.
We try very hard to save all of the animals we can. But when a wing is damaged so badly that it will never mend in such a way that the bird will fly again, and when it is an older bird and would not tolerate captivity (for such things as being an education animal) then it is more humane to put it down.
The poor thing was half starved, massively dehydrated, and pretty badly beat up. Collision with car will do that.
Supposed to get a call tomorrow, and I am crossing my fingers it will be good news. But I fear for the worst.
But even if it does have to be put down, it is a heck of a lot better than it starving to death.
The lady who found the bird did the right thing too. She called around and got it help, she kept it in an area away from domestic animals, and she didn't try to feed or water it. Sometimes, letting a wild animal go without for a few hours is a lot better than feeding it the wrong thing.
So all in all, it was a good day. But I worry about what tomorrow will bring ...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A different kind of interview ...
I've been interviewed by Patricia Sargeant for her blog, Novel Hearts. But this interview isn't your normal one ... this time it is all about the community service/charity work that I do.
If you have time, swing by http://patriciasargeant.com/blog/?p=128 and check it out.
If you have time, swing by http://patriciasargeant.com/blog/?p=128 and check it out.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
We could probably learn a thing or two ...
Recently I started doing volunteer wildlife rehab work, which is something I feel is very close to my heart. I am not a crusader, but I do have an interest in this planet and the creatures on it.
All too often, we forget that we are not the only ones who matter. Each and every creature on this planet deserves a chance at life.
I think that's part of why I find the following stories so incredible. For animals, a lesser being without true cognitive thought, who supposedly shouldn't care about anything beyond mating, eating and sleeping, to take an animal of another species under their wing and care for them is incredible to me.
Simply incredible.
A squirrel that was adopted into a litter of puppies ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/finnegan.asp
A giant tortoise who befriended a baby hippo ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hippo.asp
A greyhouse dog who mothers anyone needing it ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/jasmine.asp
Yeah, maybe we could learn a thing or two.
All too often, we forget that we are not the only ones who matter. Each and every creature on this planet deserves a chance at life.
I think that's part of why I find the following stories so incredible. For animals, a lesser being without true cognitive thought, who supposedly shouldn't care about anything beyond mating, eating and sleeping, to take an animal of another species under their wing and care for them is incredible to me.
Simply incredible.
A squirrel that was adopted into a litter of puppies ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/finnegan.asp
A giant tortoise who befriended a baby hippo ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hippo.asp
A greyhouse dog who mothers anyone needing it ...
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/jasmine.asp
Yeah, maybe we could learn a thing or two.
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