Once
again Dr. Erin Holder worked her magic in surgery to put a badly
injured female bobcat back together. The cat had been struck
by a car and had a very bad fracture of her right hind leg.
A kind citizen picked her up and brought her to FloridaWild
Veterinary Hospital where she had a pin inserted to hold the
fracture together. She was then transferred to my care. "Gracy
Bob,"as she was nick-named by the hospital staff, did extremely
well with me. Although she would spit, hiss, and growl whenever
I entered her compound, she took to rehabilitation easily.
As she healed
and became more active, her appetite increased and she was soon
gobbling down large quantities of frozen pigeons, rats, and
chicken. One fascinating thing about her was her insistence
on having a kitty litter pan filled with water to use as a toilet.
Unlike most cats who don't even like to get a single toe wet, Gracy
would only go in water. Of course, my azalea plants were quite
happy with the daily dosing of liquid kitty fertilizer! After
several months, her leg had completely healed and she was ready
for release.
The entire FloridaWild
staff joined me on a field trip to release her. With cameras
ready and breath held, I opened the crate door and before anyone
could blink an eye, Gracy shot out of the crate like a
rocket and bounded into the woods. The only thing we saw was
a brown blur as she ran past us. We may have missed the picture
but there were happy smiles all way round.
This year
I also became the reluctant though proud owner of two turkeys.
The first was found as a 5-day-old wandering alone in the woods.
Someone found him, took him home, and put him with their flock
of peacocks and chickens. Unfortunately, he was not welcome
and the flock tried to kill him, breaking 2 toes, a leg, a wing,
and covering him with cuts of bruises. That's when he came to
live with me. After lots of TLC, all his injuries healed and
his feathers grew in, I discovered he was a domestic turkey,
so he took up residence with my 2 chickens.
The second
turkey, a bronze domestic turkey, came to me after being attacked
by a dog who tore out the entire right side if his chest. It
was probably the most damaging injury I have ever seen a bird
sustain and still survive. He wandered for days injured before
becoming so desperate and ill that he was captured by an older
lady in her garage and transported to me by animal control.
His wound was full of maggots and he had a huge hole in crop
so that anything he ate or drank simply ran out the hole leaving
him dying of thirst and hunger. He underwent 2 surgeries by
Dr. Holder to repair a hole in his crop and to debride
the large amount of dead tissue. It has taken more than 3 months
but to look at him today, you would never know he was ever hurt.
Because
of the intensive care both turkeys needed to recover from their
injuries, both birds are extremely friendly, so much so that
if I sit on the ground they will try to climb into my lap to
be cuddled, not so easy now that they both weigh more than 25
pounds. "Turk Man" and "Burbo" strut around the property in
all their glory guarding their little flock of 2 chickens and
a duck that is recovering from a broken leg. It's a delightful
sight.
The red
shouldered hawks are beginning to build a new nest in a tall
pine tree next to my house. I am delighted to see them so close.
They are my wild foster parents and each year have adopted one
or two wild orphaned red shoulder hawk babies. They are wonderful,
devoted parents and I'm sure this year they will the will again
help me care for any "should" babies I receive. They are a blessing
and I am lucky to have them willing to accept offspring not
their own.
Kathy |
