Saturday, February 18, 2012

And now for the owls................


As I mentioned before, we had two new Great Horned owls with us.
Both have turned out to be gunshot victims and one of the owls, had multiple broken bones as a result. His leg had multiple fractures, possibly from a fall after being shot and the shot was lead. He had such damage and infection to the right wing, we had to euthanize him.
This poor guy had truly suffered. Why, some people out there, chose to be so cruel...and for what? He wasn't bothering anyone, so what was the motive? I just get so angry.
The other Great Horned owl is a female, also shot, but with steal shot, which tells me some waterfowl hunter decided he wanted to kill and owl. Steal shot is used for waterfowl. She too had multiple broken bones due to the shot hitting bones and shattering. We were able to intervene with surgery and repair that damage in her wing. We have named her Miracle.
The gunshot had recently happened, most likely that day by the looks of things, so there was no infection set in and she hadn't been out there starving, unable to hunt. She should be getting her device removed in a couple of weeks.
There are several pins inside her wing, down into the bones. These pins are holding everything together and there is a cast-like material on the outside, holding all these pins in place. A fixator rod was not used in this surgery due to the weight of that device and the size of this bird.
Well, that's all for now.
Debbie

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Feathered brothers and sisters, you came to us broken and as you bled…….we saw you desperate, dehydrated, desiccated, diseased, distressed, emaciated, famished, frayed, frightened, helpless, hungry, ragged, ravenous, shaken, shocked, shot, sickly, stressed, stunned, tattered, thirsty, traumatized, torn, weary and wounded. Defiantly, you stood us off with your last breath as we tried to tend to you. We saw you come in as cute, naked, fuzzy, cuddly youth, as mischievous, defiant adolescents, as fierce, regal rulers of the sky and as cunning, maimed elders whose time on earth was almost done. You endeared yourselves to us, bit us, charmed us, footed us, delighted us, hissed at us, talked to us, mantled at us, and graced us with your presence.

Some of you mended and were able to go on your way, never looking back. Some of you were injured in ways that prevented you from going, so you stayed with us to teach us…….And we came to love you. Others were too far gone, and you went home - where you fly free from pain with the Great One. All of you have touched us, and we are changed because of you.

used with permission by Arlene Powers


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