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One of those weeks that makes you question your sanity

5/25/2014

17 Comments

 
I was recently in contact with a person who offers fundraising advice to nonprofits. This person’s suggestions to me mostly covered tactics I was already using to little avail, but the big suggestion that really stuck in my craw was to de-emphasize the crappy aspects of rehab and focus near-exclusively on the “cute” stuff.

I stewed a while and finally decided to address this issue openly. Keep in mind that I offer the plain, unvarnished truth and that tact is not one of my many skills or talents.

Folks, I’d like nothing better than to report every week on the cute, sweet babies and adults that I put back into the wild. That, however, isn’t reality—not by a long shot. I don’t post these blogs to reinforce the “Disney” version of wildlife rehab, where all we do all day is play with healthy, happy animals who miraculously learn to be wild despite our constant cuddling. No, I post them to show what we really do—that while we do have successes and cute critters sometimes, this is frequently the exception rather than the norm. People need to understand how brutal and heartbreaking wildlife rehab can be sometimes; it may help them grasp why we’re as a whole an irritable, cynical lot.

Case in point: this past week. It was a hellacious, frustrating, heartbreaking week. Damn little went right from a rehab perspective. Every new intake except one either died within 24 hours or required euthanasia. I lost one of the screech owls to a rat snake (who will never eat another bird again). The single intake who survived this hellacious week may end up requiring euthanasia. Some fools left an unnested young hawk (of indeterminate species) on the ground for two days and only alerted me AFTER it had disappeared—like I could do anything at THAT point. And the “cherry on top” of this horrific week was the death this morning of the little bluebird I’d been fighting for two weeks to save. These are the weeks that make any rehabber with any vestigial shreds of sanity question their usefulness, efficacy and future as a rehabber.

So tell me, where’s the “cute” in that that’ll supposedly cause potential donors to open their checkbooks? Sometimes there IS no “cute”, only frustration, anger and sorrow. I don’t create fantasies where every intake is healthy, happy and releasable. I offer an inside look at a rehabber’s world, showing our struggle to retain some small degree of sanity, the constant scrabbling for funding, the frustration at unexplained deaths, the sorrow when a struggling animal loses the battle, the anger when people do stupid things—that’s our reality. I don’t hold back, openly admitting my mistakes and venting my frustrations, as well as sharing my successes and my sorrow for the ones I can’t save; otherwise I’d come across as some sort of superhuman hero—and I’m not. I’m an ordinary wildlife rehabber, flying by the seat of my pants and hoping like hell my britches don’t rip.

So…sorry if my lack of constant “cute” seals people’s checkbooks shut—and a final comment on that: the “cute”, healthy critters don’t usually need financial support as badly; it’s the ones who require more extensive care who eat through our limited resources most quickly, and if they’re not “cute” enough for people to help, then maybe those people are the ones with a problem, not me or any other rehabber.

On to this week’s litany of woes…

As I mentioned, the Eastern bluebird fledgling I’d been fighting to save lost her battle this morning.  A vet visit ruled out parasites but she was losing weight despite being fed every half hour. We tried a few last-ditch measures to see if they’d help, and yesterday she’d perked up and was not only gaping fairly consistently but was eating a few mealworms on her own.  I was hopeful that she’d turned the corner, was over whatever her mystery ailment was, and would begin to thrive again. Shortly after sunrise today, she died.
Earlier in the week, I got in a dog-attacked adult male bluebird. The only injury that I could find was a broken leg, and although the break was close to the joint, I thought he had a chance.  Setting the leg was probably the easiest such task I’ve ever engaged in, and he was flexing his foot within seconds of my final wrap. I was so excited! Two hours later he had one grand mal seizure and died. There were probably internal injuries, but there was no swelling or hardness indicative of internal injuries.
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The red-shouldered hawk stubbornly refuses to eat on his own but continues to shriek like a banshee when I feed him—or look at him, for that matter.
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Look at the difference in this head shot and last week's--almost no "dandelion fluff"!
This blue jay came in as a pre-fledgling early in the week, and while I found no injuries, when he hopped out of his nest within a day of intake, he refused to place any weight on his left leg. A vet visit for him confirmed no injuries, with the possible exception of nerve or soft tissue damage, neither of which will show on an x-ray or can be felt with a physical exam. I had started steroids prior to his vet visit; we opted to continue this treatment. I stopped, however, when swelling developed in the joint above his foot. To date, the swelling remains; Epsom salt soaks have made little difference, although they have reduced the hardness of the swelling. If we can’t get this issue straightened out, he has no future to look forward to; he can’t even stand properly at the moment. Keep your fingers crossed for the little guy—and for me. I desperately need a success story—and soon.
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The screech owls should have been safe, but yesterday within the space of 30 minutes, a rat snake managed to get into their pen and eat one of my babies. Had I not been doing 30-minute checks, he probably would have eaten the other one, too; as it is, when I went to check on them, one of the babies was hanging from the top of the pen and I thought he’d gotten hung. I pried him loose and started to put him back into the shadowed area with his sib and the damn rat snake, hiding in the shadows, bit me—and to be honest, I was too pissed that he’d eaten one of my babies to even be alarmed that I’d been bitten (and rat snakes are non-poisonous, anyway, people, c’mon…). Needless to say, he was terminated with extreme prejudice. I realize it didn’t help the screech he’d eaten, but he’ll never kill another baby bird.

The surviving screech was pretty traumatized yesterday but has recovered and is full of piss and vinegar today. He's also been placed inside in a snake-proof reptarium, with a cardboard nest box.
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"I'm trying to be invisible, but it just makes me look like a little doofus."
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The flyer has been moved to pre-release caging; the short clip below is from earlier in the week, when she was still taking small bits of formula from me. Sorry for the background roar; the AC in the rehab area is shot and I'm awaiting delivery of a new unit, so in the meantime we have fans set at max.
Here’s hoping this week is less fatal and less nerve-wracking. I really need a good week about now…
17 Comments
Dusty Gres
5/25/2014 08:19:21 am

I admire your spirit and determination.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/25/2014 11:43:56 am

Thanks Dusty.

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Marylin Sperling link
5/25/2014 08:55:05 am

I am devastated to read about tthe crass idiots who want cute not relief or a semblance of life. My heart aches for you ,who are so articulate,kind,dedicated and tortured. To add a samall beam of light to your daily tribulations may I relate a small incident. Two weeks ago, I told you I had returned a baby robin to the nest,following all your instructions.Today, I looked up at the racket in a large tree in my yard to see none other than the baby demanding food from the mother. I t had a rosy hue mixed with its brown spotted chest and was as big as its mom. they were far up\in the tree so I was able to sneak some phtos and Im as sure as possible that was indeed the very same pair! So, in effect, add this to your list of grateful humans and thriving lives,as per your care and wisdom, Gratefully yours, Marylin Sperling NY

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/25/2014 11:45:01 am

Thanks Marilyn. Glad you were able to use my instructions to reunite parents and baby.

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dmortii
5/25/2014 10:39:57 am

Sorry for the week you've had. Don't lose sight of the good you do!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/25/2014 11:47:55 am

Thanks dm.

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Christy
5/25/2014 02:57:55 pm

So sorry for the screech owl loss. Hoping the other has a successful release in the near future.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/25/2014 03:06:36 pm

Thanks Christy. He's started eating on his own, so that's good.

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Elizabeth H link
5/26/2014 04:19:23 am

Vonda, I know this is going to sound like I don't know what I am talking about, but chickens get something called bumble foot. It looks exactly like what your little blue jay is showing. I know that's an infection, although they usually still walk on it when they do have it. Just wanted to mention that, I am sure you have already ruled infection out.

On the subject of keeping "the cute" in front, this person obviously doesn't realize what you do, and that there isn't anything cute about most of it. I would advise a new adviser! You do wonderful and important work, don't let someone who doesn't know that get you down!

E

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/26/2014 06:36:45 am

Thanks Elizabeth. I've treated bumblefoot before, and the blue jay's joint swelling isn't bumblefoot. That's usually a result of a cut, puncture wound or abrasion to the foot/toes, sometimes caused by too much pressure on the foot or an improper perch or excessively long talons in raptors. There are no wounds on this guy's "ankle"; it just started swelling after we tried steroids, which leads me to think it might be related to the 'roids.

And thanks for reaffirming that people who care about wildlife are interested in more than just the "cute" aspects of it.

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Ann Feldman
5/26/2014 10:28:54 am

To repeat what I have said before, you are not God and cannot begin to save the world. Think of all the happy critters that DON'T need you! Life for birds is a crapshoot, and you learn from everything, right? Did you ever build those new flight pens? I know you are busy and crazed, so just asking.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/26/2014 10:45:48 am

Thanks Ann. It's just hard sometimes to maintain perspective after "one of those" weeks...especially as horrendous as last week was...

The weather was...shall we say uncooperative? this past fall and winter--too wet and then too cold to work on the flights. Then this spring babies started coming in earlier than usual, before we could get started, so...funds are there, waiting to be used as soon as the weather and intake load permit--probably late summer/early fall. For now, I'm limping along with the old flight pen for one more season and salivating at the thought of having new pens up by the 2015 season!

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Anonymous
5/26/2014 02:38:22 pm

It's always sad when you lose the babies. Is it common for rehab "patients" to be killed/eaten by a natural predator in outside caging? Just curious. Thank you for saving our precious wildlife!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/26/2014 02:48:01 pm

It's not an everyday occurrence, obviously, but it does occasionally happen. In the past I've lost songbirds to snakes but never a raptor until now. But even adult screeches are so small that a large snake can easily crush and swallow them.

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Kelly H
5/27/2014 01:20:47 am

This was a difficult report to read, but for me, these are the stories that prompt me to give funds, not the cutesie ones. Like the night you described when you endured the bird having seizures all night long before you could get it to the vet for euthanasia moved me to want to help you get the supplies needed to be able to do it yourself. Don't hold back on the realities of what you deal with. And like Ann said above, it is amazing how many do survive and thrive in the wild on their own, despite the many, many threats. The window you provide to us describing what you do is amazing, wonderful, frightful, and

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Kelly H
5/27/2014 01:34:45 am

....and inspiring. (Sorry, accidentally touched submit before I finished!) Anyway, I think what I hated most about your week is the rat snake getting that little screech owl. That had to be heartbreaking and infuriating! I also wanted to share an experience we had with a chickadee nest in a box in our yard this season: six babies hatched and the parents dutifully provided food for them constantly every day, yet one by one, four of them died in the nest. I removed each one as they died, still watching as the parents worked to feed the rest. Then as the last two matured, one fledged but the other remained in the box. I watched for another week as that baby stayed in the box and parents kept feeding it, struggling over whether I should intervene. Finally it was my grown son who decided to open up the box and let the little guy out, only to find that his foot was snagged in some nesting material and he couldn't free himself! My son gently worked his foot free, and the bird appeared good to go so he released him to flutter to his nearby ticked-off mother! It never would have occurred to me that a fledgling might get tangled in the nest before! Just one more potential peril to these little creatures who seem so carefree singing and flocking to our feeders. I know this is probably too long to publish, but I wanted you to know you are appreciated and your work matters. Thanks.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue
5/27/2014 04:12:00 am

Thanks Kelly. Yeah, the rat snake eating the sceech infuriated me; at least I got to them in time to save the other little guy, though.

Good job on the chickadee. Yeah, hatch injuries and nest injuries, as well as getting a toe or foot hung in the nesting material, are more common in the wild than you'd expect. Y'all's awareness of the situation and willingness to intervene saved that little bird's life, because eventually the parents would've stopped feeding him in the box.

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