How it all began

People are always asking how we got started working with animals.  My story is a bit boring, since I’ve always worked with them, but Vinny’s is interesting and funny, so I thought I’d share some of Vinny’s early days with animals here.

Vinny grew up in Brooklyn, NY, not an area known for their pet or wildlife populations.  His dad was going to get him a puppy when he was a child, but his mom told him that he was allergic, so he never got a pet.

Fast forward many years and he marries this weird chick from New Mexico that grew up with pets and tons of other wacky creatures and the adventures begin.  AND he found out that, not only is he not allergic to dogs, he’s not allergic to any animals.  Thank goodness or this story would get super boring right after this line.

When we were first married, our pet population was quite normal, two dogs (a male lhasa apso, named Slimers and a female Chihuahua), two cats (an indoor cat named Stripers and an outdoor cat that actually belonged more to the lhasa apso than the humans and stayed in the yard only) and a parrot.  What could go wrong, right?

Well, Slimers believed he was the “man of the house” and wasn’t all that thrilled having this new male move in to HIS territory. 

So, a month into the marriage, Vinny was coming inside from the backyard, he had to lift one leg really high to step over something and Slimers took that opportunity to jump up and bit him RIGHT between the legs, tearing his jeans and causing some bleeding to occur.  Yes, for a second we questioned whether children would ever be possible in our marriage after this, thankfully, that was all ok, but the lines were drawn.

Six months after that, we had one of those horrible hail storms that Texas is so notorious for, so we had to bring the dog and cat in from outside for their own safety.  The outside cat was sitting in the middle of the yard (not in either one of the two dog houses we provided for them), being pelted by golf ball size hail!  I was seriously afraid he was about to die, so, being the great sport that he is, Vinny ran outside and grabbed the cat, which really hated being held by humans, and rushed him into the house to safety.  Vinny knew enough to keep a tight grip on this cat or he’d get loose and not be caught.  As he went to the utility room (where the cat stayed when he was indoors), he loosened his grip ever so slightly.  As he did, the cat took advantage and ZOOMED up Vinny’s face and down his back, scaled the nearby wall and dove behind the water heater head first, where he got stuck!

There was blood everywhere!  The cat had caught Vinny’s lower lip with his back claw as he climbed over his head and torn it clean open!  And now the cat is stuck.

This all happened as Vinny was leaving for work, so we patched his lip and he headed out the door.  He got halfway down our road and realized that I was not going to be able to unstick the cat by myself since I was pregnant and not as maneuverable as normal, so he came back. 

The cat was lodged so badly between the wall and the water heater and was so far down that he couldn’t reach him and had to punch a hole in the wall from the kitchen to the utility room to get a hand on the cat!  He did this, the cat clawed his face one more time and the event was pretty much over.

To this day, that cat gave Vinny the worst injury he’s ever had from an animal.

Yes, this was Vinny’s initial introduction to living with animals.  And somehow he still works with animals! 

Where is Nirvana

Nirvana

One thing we hear often, especially when we have Lady Di (our American kestrel that is missing part of her wing) or one of our other birds that has been captive since they were babies out in public is, “poor thing, I prefer to see them wild” and then when we explain why she isn’t wild, “well, she fell out of her nest as a baby and lost half of her wing and two of her toes” many people will still say, “oh, the poor thing” and then we often hear something along the lines of, “I bet she wishes she was free” and simply walk away without finding out anything about her, why she's with us, or her species.

While I absolutely agree that it is sad that she had an accident, the rest of this sentiment simply escapes me.  Her accident happened seven years ago, when she was a white, fluffy baby; and it must have been incredibly scary for such a tiny creature to be alone and so helpless .  I do not follow the logic on how she, Lady Di, wishes she was free.  For one thing, Lady Di is quite a happy, spunky little bird who has no issues whatsoever expressing her likes and dislikes (just talk to anybody that has held her without her full and complete approval, it doesn’t go well).  She knows exactly how to get exactly what she wants.  Facts that the people making these statements never seem to notice or even bother to ask about.  It would be nice, just once, to have one of these people ask a question, like maybe, “well, how has she adjusted to captivity”, instead of jumping to a conclusion simply because it is in vogue.

These people are missing out on so much, like learning about Lady Di in particular, or learning about her species as a whole, and all because they feel it is their sacred duty to point out that we, as her "captors" are bad and wrong.  

But the bigger reason that I am always taken aback by this assumption, made by people who obviously don’t know her, is WHY do they believe she misses being free?  If she remembers “the wild” (and I’m not really sure how much she would remember, because my own memory of myself as a baby just doesn’t exist, so I’m not sure how much memory birds have of their time as a nestling), what is she missing about what she remembers?  Falling from a tree; breaking very important parts of her body; which had to hurt; laying on the ground, helpless and terrified until a huge predator picked her up and walked off with her.  All of this, from her perspective sounds painful and terrifying, not something that I myself would miss.

Of course, what these people most likely mean is that she misses being able to fly.  And that would make tons of sense to me if Lady Di had ever flown, even once in her entire life, but she hasn’t. Sadly, because these people don't spend the time to learn her story, they don't realize this.

Just as I do not miss living in Paris, because I never have lived in Paris, I highly doubt that Lady Di misses something she’s never done in her life.

For those who might say that flying is instinctual and living in Paris is not, well, yes, that is a valid point.  But there are humans that lose the ability to walk, like soldiers in war, and some people are born unable to walk.  They adjust just as Lady Di has done.  Sure, her life is not what humans believe it was meant to be, but she has adjusted and changed due to her injuries, just as many humans do.  Instead of being wild and helping to control the bird population, she now educates humans about her species.  And thankfully, nobody has shown her the handbook on how to be a kestrel in the wild.

To be brutally honest, if you were to ask Lady Di if she has any complaints about her new life, she would tell you yes, she surely does.  She wants to live in the house with the humans but due to the laws she is not allowed to.  She voices this complaint often and very loudly.

It seems to be in vogue these days to believe that every animal that is living captive is miserable about it and misses the wild.  The sad part about this new view is that nobody seems to be keeping in mind how the animals might feel, or what life in this mythical nirvana place would really be like for that individual animal.  Could they even feed themselves?

Not that I, in any way, condone simply removing animals from the wild for no reason, or for any reason other than the safety and survival of that animal, but those that are captive aren’t all miserable and pining for this mythical “the wild” that people seem to believe exists.

Honestly, if we think of this from Lady Di’s perspective, “the wild” is quite a terrifying place, that, were I her, I’d be quite pleased to be away from. 

Just as I do not “miss” living as humans were originally meant to live (remember, we didn’t start out with electricity and indoor plumbing, or even houses), I don’t understand how humans can look at an animal that is obviously quite well adjusted and cared for and assume that they miss something that it was not able to survive.  Given a choice between living in a house with running water and electricity and living out of a cave or hut, keeping warm by covering myself with leaves and maybe dirt, scavenging for every bite of food just to survive, I will pick the house living any day.  And I would venture to bet large sums of money that the people making these statements would as well.  So why do we humans assume that these animals’ choices would be different? 

Yes, I truly believe that any animal that can survive wild and free and on their own should be given every opportunity to do so.  But those who cannot should not be forced to do so because of some ideological belief that some human that has built up this mythical nirvana called “the wild” in their head (or in a kids movie).

Had Lady Di remained in the wild, she would be long since dead and food for some other creature.  I just cannot believe that, given the choice, that would be hers.  So, rather than feeling sorry for something she doesn’t either remember or miss, how about we all be happy that she was found and saved and now lives a happy and pampered life?

Maybe a better use of people's time would be to focus on making “the wild” a safe place for wildlife to survive instead of continuing to destroy it and still expecting animals to survive in the mess we have created?

Pet Parrot Safety

Recently we rescued a pet parrot that had flown away from his home.  Thankfully for this parrot, he went to a human, most will be too scared to do this, so he was reunited with his owner.  While we were looking for the owner, we received calls and emails from dozens of people who were hoping it was their bird.  Many had been missing their pet parrot for as much as two years.

Of all of the species that we deal with, no species escapes and is lost as often as pet parrots.  In fact, this has become such a common and ongoing issue that several areas of the country are now dealing with an overabundance of now feral parrots that are taking over their natural habitats.  This isn’t good for the parrots or the native wildlife of the area.  In other areas of the country, these parrots aren’t nearly so lucky, they simply cannot survive the weather or local wildlife kills them.

I always worry about the fear factor.  How scary must it be for an animal that was born captive and has always depended on humans for food and other necessities to suddenly be out on their own, having to take care of themselves and get themselves out of harm’s way?  I imagine it would be a bit like putting a child out.  Yes, some may survive and learn to forage and find shelter, but is this a happy, safe or desired existence? 

Having wings means that if a parrot gets out, they can go quite a distance before being even spotted and most just won’t survive our wild.  Remember, these birds aren’t native here, they aren’t meant to live in this area, even the food isn’t right. Between the weather and the predators, chances of survival are slim, and as we’ve pointed out, if they do survive, will it be a nice life when they don’t have the proper food and they are constantly having to outfly predators?  Remember, the majority of these birds were born captive, even their parents have never seen “the wild”.

If you have or want a pet parrot, please do not despair, escape is not imminent.  There are things that you can do to ensure your parrot’s safety. 

The first thing we strongly suggest with all pets, not just parrots, is that you have your pet microchipped.  This is a simple, safe and inexpensive and could mean the difference between seeing your bird again and not.  If you move, please remember to update your information with the microchip company.  We have seen animals returned to their owners up to 5 years after they were lost, simply because they were microchipped!

Wing clipping is a simple and humane way to keep your parrot from leaving. While birds whose wings are clipped do still have enough flight capability to get away from a predator for the time it would take you to get to your bird (assuming that you are watching your bird as you should be).  Of course, birds do molt out and regrow all of their feathers, so this is a process that will need to be repeated a couple of times a year.  Wing clipping only takes off the longest part of the flight feathers, wings will still look perfectly normal when the wings are tucked against the body. Clipping these feathers is very similar to cutting your hair, it does not cause the bird pain.  If you are not comfortable clipping the wings of your own bird, there are many vets who will do it for you for a nominal fee.  While we all believe that we can keep our own birds safe in our homes, it only takes a split second for a bird to get through a door and fly to a place where you can’t get them back.  This could save you a lot of stress and heartbreak and it could very well save your bird’s life!

We do fully understand that fully flighted birds are stunning to watch and that birds who are trained to free fly can be much happier having the ability to fly with the supervision of their owners at times.  And we truly believe that this is a wonderful option for birds that are fully trained!  This training though takes time and patients and must be reinforced continually in order to ensure that your bird always returns when you call!  There are many wonderful training classes available in most areas and even more can be found online!

Having a pet, no matter what the species, can be the most rewarding thing in the world, but it can also be the most heartbreaking if we, the guardians of our animals, do not take steps to ensure the safety of our pets. 

Frozen with Fear

Have you ever heard the term FROZEN WITH FEAR?  It is real!

One thing we, as humans, seem to forget at times is that we are large and imposing and that to many smaller species, we are predators.  We receive calls quite often from people who believe a small bird or baby opossum is comforted by them holding it because the animal becomes still and is not fighting.  Many even explain to us that the animals know they are vegan or vegetarian by their scent and that is why the animal is comforted by them holding it.

Well, this is one of those instances when people are anthropomorphizing the animals they are looking at.  Assuming that all animals can smell the meat that we consume coming from our skin is really giving their noses a bit more credit than they deserve.  Also, assuming that at a time when the animal is in fear for its life it is thinking of how we smell is simply not right.  Some can for sure, most mammals can, but songbirds have very little sense of smell and what they have they don’t tend to use and any animal that is in fear for their life is not going to think clearly enough to stop and determine what you smell like.

So how do animals know which animals (including humans) are predators and which are not?  Mother Nature has given them a way to tell this without them having to get anywhere close enough to sniff the other animal!  The placement of our eyes!  If you look at all mammals, those that are meant to eat meat (including humans) have their eyes on the front of their head, those that eat no meat - herbivores (and therefore prey species) have eyes on the side of their head. 

The reality is these animals are quite literally frozen in fear.  In their reality, fighting or wiggling will make most predators kill and eat them faster.  Consider being in their position, a very large predator is holding you, would fighting really help?  Probably not.  But, if you appear sick or even dead, some predators will reconsider their choice in meals and possibly not eat you.  That is what these animals are hoping for.

It really doesn’t matter if you eat meat or not, in the natural world, humans are predators and animals are quite aware of this fact.  Our eyes being on the front of our head make this fact impossible to hide from animals.  Your change in diet did not change the placement of your eyes on your head.

Please, keep in mind your place in nature when you are around wildlife.

HUMAN CONTACT

HUMAN CONTACT

This has been a really tough rehab season for me personally.  I have come the closest I’ve ever come to quitting this year and probably not for the reasons you might think.  Not because most of the money that it takes to support these animals comes out of my own pocket.  Not because I haven’t had a single day off in three years.  Not because my back hurts daily.  Not because week after week I have to reschedule visits with my one and only grandchild because an animal needs help.  All of these things I can handle.  So why?   

I have had to sit down and ask myself, “What is wrong?  Why is this year so different than years before? Why do I dread answering the phone?”, and really think about what is it that is getting to me so badly this year over previous years and I have finally figured it out.  The dreaded “REHABBER BURN OUT” is hitting!  OH NO

Anybody who has worked with wildlife rehabilitators can tell you that the “burn out” rate among rehabbers is quite high.  Other rehabbers have often warned us of this “rehabber burn out” due to the volume of animals we take in (which is higher than most individual rehabbers), “you better be careful or you’ll burn out”.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this, and honestly, it has never been a concern.  We know where our limits are and we stay within them. 

Most attribute this “burn out” to the toll it takes on a person to continually watch animals suffer and die.  That has to take its toll on a person, right?  I’ve often wondered what the real reason is, because, as rehabbers, we see animals suffer and die, but the successes help us through the heartbreak, so we can go on and help the next animal.  If death creates burn out, why don’t ER doctors burn out as quickly? 

This summer I think I have finally figured out just why the burn out rate is really so much higher in wildlife rehabilitation than in other areas and the reason has absolutely nothing to do with animals or the care we provide to the animals or the money it costs us or the loss of personal time it has cost.

The real reason I have personally come so close to “rehabber burn out” can be attributed to one thing and one thing only…..

HUMAN CONTACT

Let me start by saying I do not mean ALL people.  Many people I speak to are very nice and truly just care about wildlife.  The ones I’m talking about are not those.  These are people that do not want to be inconvenienced or told that their assumptions are not correct.

And the majority of this human contact is not even in person, it’s over the phone.  After decades of doing wildlife rehabilitation, I am STILL constantly amazed at what people will say to me over the phone as I am honestly trying to help the best I can.  In fact, the way that people behave over the phone has gotten exponentially worse in just the last few years.

I won’t go into the names I’ve been called, or the threats I have personally received, but some examples of things that I have personally been told numerous times over the phone are listed below:

1.       My tax dollars pay your salary!

o   Typically this is said by somebody who has called about a small animal that is in need of help, but is not considered dangerous to handle.  We have usually just informed the person that we would be happy to give the animal care, but they would need to transport the animal to us.

o   The reality is, not only do NO tax dollars pay my salary, but I don’t get paid, in salary or otherwise to work with these animals.  Never have been paid for working with these animals.  Every dime of money that comes in here goes directly to animal care. 

o   And it rarely matters how well or nicely I explain this fact, the person will still be very hateful and insist on getting their way.

o   The reality is that there are a few rehabilitators that do get paid to do this, however, they work for very large facilities and because the facility is so well funded, they have the luxury of working ONLY with the animals and not having to answer the phone and deal with the public. 

2.       The guy that works at petsmart told me that you are wrong!

o   This is one I’ve gotten a few times when explaining to a person that a bird is a fledgling and the best thing that they can do for this bird is to leave it alone and allow its parents to continue to care for it.

o   And now I’m left to argue with a person who chooses to believe a person that has a few months of experience selling pet toys to people over my own decades of experience dealing with the species we are actually discussing.  Talk about disheartening!

3.       Well, I’m just not comfortable with that. (this is a “nice” way of the person telling me that they aren’t going to do what I just said they should do)

o   This is typically said by a person who has been told to leave a fledgling bird or a parked fawn where it is, so that the natural parents can still care for it.

o   I realize that leaving babies alone is not what humans do with their own young, but whether a person is comfortable with it or not, for many species of wildlife, it IS the best thing for them.

o   So now I’m supposed to be more concerned about how the human feels than what’s best for the animal?

4.       If you cared you would come get this animal.

o   Typically said by a person who does not want to transport the animal to us, but wants us to come and pick it up.

o   Given that we cover 28 counties within this state, if we were to go and pick up every animal that we get called about…well, that would be physically impossible, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.  But, if we tried, the animals that are already in our care would not get care. 

o   This is honestly, just a mean thing to say.  There is no other way to word it, it’s just mean.  I do care.  In fact, I care enough not to hang up the phone as this person starts their abuse.  THAT is caring!

5.       It’s your job, not mine

o   Actually, the word “job” implies that a person is paid to perform a specific set of tasks, so this word really does not apply to what we do here.

o   For one, we are not paid, for two, not even my permits require me to do anything.  They simply ALLOW me to do things if I so choose. 

o   Honestly, you could not pay me enough money to deal with the amount of abuse that I put up with on the phone.  If this was a job, I would have quit long, long ago.

o   In all reality, caring about nature should be the job of every human!  Not just mine because I choose to help.

6.       Oh, that’s too far, I’m not driving that far.

o   Typically said by a person who lives some distance (often within 30 miles) of us and does not want to take the time to transport the animal.

o   I always wonder if that person realizes that the road is the same length in each direction and that they are dealing with just one animal, we are getting called for upwards of twenty animals a day, all in need of transport.

7.       Well I made the phone call, I’ve done my part.

o   Typically said by a person who does not want to transport the animal to us

o   I always wonder if I have then done my part by answering that call?

8.       I’m going to report you.

o   This was said to me by a woman who brought us a song bird.  At the time that she brought the bird, she was handed a post card with explicit instructions on how to get updates on the animal’s progress, which included emailing and NOT calling.

o   When she called for an update (which she’d been told not to do), as I tried to give her the update, she kept saying “I can’t hear you”, so I told her that she should try to call back later.  THIS she obviously heard, because that is when she started screaming this into the phone, “I’m going to report you”.

o   All I could think was, “report me for what?  Caring for the bird?” I’m not required to give updates to anybody other than those who hold our permits (being state and federal government)

o   And she did report me.  In fact, this woman, who could not follow the simple directions on the card she was given, was able to obtain phone numbers of government officials that I’m not even sure how to get.  All JUST to complain that I didn’t give her an update.  An update I actually tried to give her even though she didn’t follow the directions and even though I am not required to give anybody updates.

9.       Well, what am I supposed to do then?

o   How does one even begin to answer this question?  What are you supposed to do as you look at an animal in need that you won’t transport to the proper person?  I just don’t know.

No, I am not going to quit rehabilitating wildlife.  It sure isn't the animals' fault that some humans are selfish.  But I do now understand better what “rehabber burn out” is and how it is caused. 

And people worry about contact with animals?  Give me an angry bear over a human who feels they are entitled simply by being ANY day of the week!

Can Opossums Swim?

Can Opossums Swim?

There is a question you probably never thought you would need to know the answer to in a big hurry, isn't it?  There was a time when Vinny and I needed to know the answer to that question VERY quickly.

 

It was the release of the first opossum that we’d ever rehabilitated completely by ourselves.  Prior to this one, when they got older we would pass them off to another rehabber to get prepared for release.  This was the first one that we’d decided we finally had enough experience on our own to go through all of the pre-release things and release her ourselves.  We were so excited to see her go free! 

We found THE perfect spot to release her.  Plenty of trees and a field, and even a nice little pond, we just knew she’d be very happy here!  And along came release day.  We drove her, in a crate, out to the perfect spot that we had chosen.  When we arrived, I gave her my usual, “ok, now from now on, stay away from humans” speech.  We placed her crate on the ground, midway between the trees and the pond, so she could decide which direction she’d go.  Then we opened the crate and watched her run away….

Right into the pond!  Our heads snapped around to look at each other in shock, as we both said, simultaneously, “can possums swim?”  Neither of us knew!  We’d never really thought to find out.  We knew that they were ok walking in water; they always did that, but actually swim?  We were unsure.

And now we were just sure we’d have to jump in and rescue our little charge!  We rushed to rip off our shoes so that we could  jump in and “save” her. The answer to our question came before we’d even finished getting our shoes off, to go in after her; she’s swam to the other side of the pond and was out and ambling into the woods, shaking the water from her fur and already starting to show signs of drying.

So, the answer to our previously unasked question, "Can opossums swim",  is YES, opossums can indeed swim, and quite well I might add!

A real day in our lives

Doing wildlife rehabilitation and exotic animal rescue somehow sounds “glamorous” to many people.  I constantly hear, “I wish I could spend all day playing with wildlife like you do”.  Oh, how I wish that I had time to play with animals all day every day!  This blog will be about a pretty typical day in our lives.  It won’t be as sweet or pretty as other blogs have been, but it will be real.

Our day started out pretty normally.  Getting bowls ready to feed the masses.  Letting Talia and Rocky (two of our permanent raccoons) out to play with the foxes, dogs and cats.  This means we have to keep an eye on them.  Both are very well behaved, but they are still raccoons and can still get into trouble.  You wouldn’t let two 2-year old human children run around your house unsupervised would you?  Usually, when we do this, we wait for them to get tired and put themselves back in their cages.

 

We perform thorough examinations on our permanent raptors whenever we take them out to an event (which means they get checks usually bi-weekly at a minimum) or monthly if we have a slow month.  Sometimes, circumstances require us to do an examination at other times, this was one of those days.

Changes in weather often bring changes in how animals eat, especially the raptors.  They often will go off their food for a day or two with any major change, including weather change.  This last week we have been watching several of our permanent raptors, to be sure they do not go off of their food for more than a couple of days.  One, our red tailed hawk, Rahl, went off of her food for three days, so we brought her in for a thorough examination.  This is always a challenge as Rahl is a very high strung bird, has been since she arrived here at one year of age, so she isn’t the most cooperative bird during examinations.  But, with her not eating for three days, we felt it was necessary.

To our shock and horror the reason she was off of her food was immediately apparent.  She had broken her beak right at the point that the beak begins to turn down.  We have never dealt with a broken beak like this. The only ones we have seen previously were on rehab birds who came in with partial beaks that were already healed and the birds were still eating fine.  We have read about it in our raptor books and seen many videos on it, but never dealt with it ourselves.  Rahl’s beak wasn’t stable, it was obviously painful and there was no way she could eat with this beak.  Something had to be done to repair it and quickly!

In wracking our brains to figure out how in the world she could have done this, the only thing that makes sense was that we had a storm a couple of nights before.  It must have scared her very badly and she flew into something in a panic.  She’s been through many storms since she’s been here and never hurt herself, but something caused her to do this to herself and that is the only scenario that makes sense to us.

I immediately got on the phone and called all of the raptor people I know to ask what we could do.  Then I called Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital who agreed to see her.  Dr. Grafinger there is wonderful and has helped us so much with wildlife!  We were at their office for three hours!  Their staff was wonderful and caring, thankfully, since I was totally falling apart on the inside.

As a caregiver who has been entrusted with the lives of these beautiful creatures, the guilt is immense any time something goes wrong!  When it goes this wrong, it is much worse.  Yes, the logical side of me knows “these things happen” and there really was no way to stop or prevent this.  Logic doesn’t really take a big role in feelings, especially when one of your own is badly injured.

Rahl’s beak was broken all the way across the top, from one side to the other, but was still holding very firmly on the inside.  Dr. Graf and his staff cleaned the break and glued it back together and put plastic splints on either side of her beak for extra support.  Home we went with our beautiful girl.

Like I said, this is a high strung girl, so by the time we got home, she’d taken off one of the splints and her beak was more crooked than before. 

I went into another panic and started looking to see what we had here to fix this.  I put in calls to more raptor people, Dr. Graf, and Dr. Leo at Avian and Exotic Vet Care.  We decided to use “5 Minute Epoxy” and fiberglass (something commonly used for beak injuries).  I was as nervous about doing this myself as could be, but Dr. Graf was on his way home after a long day and I didn’t feel it was fair to ask him to return to work and Avian and Exotic was about to close.  So, Vinny and I went to work!

Actually, right before we went to work, we got in a very young turkey vulture with a badly broken leg.  We gave him a quick examination and had to set him aside to fix Rahl’s beak before she hurt it more.

During the entire process, I photo documented every step.  Both for my own notebook of care and for others, as well as to be able to show our vets so they could let me know if we’d done it right.  Thankfully, they explain really, really well!

Once everything was applied to her beak, Vinny sat, with his finger in her beak, keeping it open so it couldn’t epoxy closed, for 20 minutes.  It didn’t cure nearly as fast as it claimed it would.  But, Vinny was such a wonderful sport about all of this!  Really, how many guys would sit with their finger in the beak of a red tailed hawk, let alone an unhappy one?

Once she was settled in, we took a closer look at the young vulture and found he had a horribly broken leg that was broken too high up to fix.  So, off Vinny went with the vulture, back to the vet to have him euthanized so he would not suffer any longer.

While I waited for Vinny to come back and to check Rahl again (I tried not to stress her more by checking her too often), I uploaded the photos to our facebook page, both to show our fans what was going on and as a way to show our vets how it went. 

This entire time my insides were flipping out.  The stress of this was so bad; I can’t begin to explain it.  While I had been assured by everybody who had raptor experience that, even if this didn’t go well, since she was captive, she would live.  But just living wasn’t what I wanted for this majestic beauty!  Her freedom was taken away by a mean person with a gun several years before; I didn’t want her life to be even harder because I might not have done this right.

We had a lot of very positive and caring feedback from our friends on facebook.  This was actually helping my feelings a lot.  Then came the one comment asking if we were taking OUR bird to another raptor center because this person didn’t think epoxy on a bird sounded right.  While I know I shouldn’t allow comments like this to bother me, my emotional state was already so precarious that any amount of wind I may have had in my tattered sails was gone in a flash!  I was devastated!  I knew using epoxy was “the norm” for beak issues such as this, I knew I’d done the very best I possibly could, but being questioned like that hurt like being hit by a large sledgehammer in the gut.

Thankfully, after I explained a little more, this person took her comment down.  But the hurt was still there, piled on my already huge guilt heap.

Thankfully, two of our wonderful vets looked at the pictures and told me I did a great job!  They also let me know what to expect in the weeks and months to come.  I can’t tell you how much this type of support from such wonderful vets means to a person like me! 

We now will be feeding Rahl by hand (yes, that’s right, cutting mice into little pieces and sticking them down her throat) for a while so that there is no pressure put on her beak.  According to one of our vets, who has dealt with a LOT of broken beaks, we will be doing this for about a week or so.  He also says she should be healed in three months.  This all may sound gross or tough to most people, but living with wildlife often means doing things you may find unpleasant or that you may have even sworn you would never do. 

While I am still working on getting my guilt that this accident happened at all under control, I truly believe that Rahl will be fine in the end!  Thanks to a wonderful team of vets, I know we did the very best we could in this situation.