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“I’d love to do what you do”

3/2/2014

10 Comments

 
I hear that so often when people bring me birds, usually followed by “I’m such an animal lover.” And then the question comes: “How do you get licensed to do this?”

I briefly explain the process: purchase the study materials, schedule and take the exam, have facilities inspected, number of hours of “apprenticeship” with a licensed bird rehabber required by the feds to work with birds, etc.

So far, so good—that never seems to faze people; it’s all doable. Then I explain the reality of a rehabber’s world. I don’t do this to discourage people from becoming rehabbers, but I also don’t want fly-by-nighters, who decide after a year or two they just can’t do this anymore because it’s too time-consuming; nor do I want the folks with a Disneyfied dream of “playing” with wild animals all day.  And I certainly don’t want the folks who think they can make money rehabbing—as rehabbers know all too well, that ain’t the case. And if the interested party can’t handle blood and gore and making the decisions to euthanize mortally injured or unreleasable wildlife, then they don’t need to waste their time…or anyone else’s.

So after I explain the basic “how-to”, I launch into my spiel about the demands rehab makes on your time and budget. I point out that people expect help with their wildlife, but they seldom donate to its care while in rehab—and yet they’ll call/email constantly to ask how “their” critter is doing. I explain that people aren’t always willing to bring critters needing rehab to you; in fact, some are downright rude about it, demanding that you come pick up said critter—after all, their tax dollars pay your salary. That one always gets a belly laugh from me—I have to ask, “So you don’t pay taxes, then? Because I damn sure don’t get a salary!”

And then I discuss the gruesome side of rehab: the birds that come in with their crops ripped open; the maggot-infested wounds; the blackened ends of bones and reek of infection from an open fracture; the frustration of struggling to save a bird and thinking you’ve pulled it off, only to find the bird dead the next morning…

Most people leave with their tails between their legs. I sigh and get back to work and hope maybe the next interested party will have what it takes to stick with it and become “one of us.” As I said, I don’t do this to discourage people, because God knows we need more properly trained and permitted rehabbers out there. No, I do it to provide a realistic look at what rehabbers do, so that anyone who continues down this path does so with their eyes wide open as to what they’re getting into.

Yes, it can be rewarding. Yes, it can occasionally be fun. But it can also be incredibly frustrating and emotionally draining, and anyone who thinks they might want to become a rehabber needs to know that up front.

Off the soapbox and onto the update:

The barred owl is still with us. He does seem to be responding to sound now, but I’m still unsure about those eyes. Really bad concussions can sometimes screw up vision for several weeks, so he’s got a little while longer before I make a decision as to his fate. I’m still hoping for a miracle—hoping but not optimistic. 
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This gorgeous adult male red shouldered hawk was found in a yard, sitting with his head tucked in broad daylight. The caller knew this wasn’t normal and boxed the bird for transport.  Upon his arrival, it was obvious what the immediate cause of his lethargy was—he was rail-thin, with a keel so sharp you could cut yourself on it. Whether this starvation was secondary to frounce or capillaria was less obvious, but I began treatment for both, along with small, frequent feedings. Within 12 hours or so, he was standing with his head untucked, but then he started throwing up his food and none of the standard procedures for halting this worked.  Less than 12 hours after the vomiting began, he died.
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And today, a caller said he had a small, grayish hawk with a broken wing. The size and color description matched both mature Cooper’s hawks and sharp-shinned hawks, and even his estimate of size—about pigeon-sized— wasn’t a sure identifier, as a large female sharpie and a small male Coop can be about the same size. I have no shame admitting that Coops and sharpies are hard for me to differentiate at times. Upon intake, I decided this was a sharpie—and a well-fleshed one, at that. However, the left wing had an open fracture right at the joint in the “armpit.” There was nothing to be done for this bird, and I don’t mind admitting that having to euthanize a well-fleshed, alert, feisty bird because of a fatal wing fracture sucked, pure and simple.
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The three youngest flyers are temporarily in with the four that came in around November. My goal this coming week is to get all 10 flyers into the pre-release caging. One of the really neat things about flyers is their very social behavior. There is no way I could have put new gray squirrels into an older group; the barking, scolding and chattering would have commenced apace, and they would have attacked each other.

Not so with flyers. Even though I gave the youngest three their own separate nest box, situated away from the older four, by morning all seven were in one big pile of happy flyers. They’re such gentle little loves!
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10 Comments
Suzie Gilbert link
3/2/2014 09:27:27 am

Great post, Vonda! Wish we had a magic wand to make people into rehabbers. So sorry about the red shoulder & the sharpie, really a shame. Still rooting for the barred. Love your photos, as always, those flyers are zoo cute.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/2/2014 12:01:56 pm

Thanks Suzie! Yeah, I wish more people would become involved in rehab, too--there are so few of us in any given state. I hated losing both those birds, but I hate losing any of 'em, so...we do what we can and it's often not enogh, as you know all too well.The flyers are too damn adorable--they're the sole reason I keep my mammal permit active (although I do also have a soft spot for possums)!

Reply
Dusty Gres
3/2/2014 09:44:15 am

I am grateful that you can and do -- do what you do.Thanks on behalf of the ones you save and the ones you help pass with dignity and care.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/2/2014 12:02:31 pm

Thanks Dusty.

Reply
Adriane
3/2/2014 09:51:52 am

Bless you for what you do because I couldn't handle it. Caring for animals like this would rip my heart out.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/2/2014 12:03:30 pm

Thanks Adriane.

Reply
Ann Feldman
3/2/2014 10:57:54 am

Thank heaven for the flyers! They lighten up the load I am sure. I wouldn't be a rehabber if they gave me stacks of hundred dollar bills.
Ann

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/2/2014 12:05:41 pm

LOL Anne, if they gave stacks of hundred dollar bills, an awful lot of rehabbers wouldn't be stressed out over funding all the time!

Reply
Maureen
3/2/2014 01:21:20 pm

Reality check! Another fine job of writing. Sorry about all the poor outcomes for the hawks, I know the extra sadness from putting the fighters to rest. :( shared

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/2/2014 03:27:48 pm

Thanks Maureen.

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