B: Good evening, readers! So many new and not-so-new-but-vastly-improved patients to talk about. About three weeks ago, our commander Chris and our very own Alicia checked in an extremely emaciated and comatose adult female Great Horned owl. Injuries pointed to an automobile accident a few days prior to admission. Anti-inflammatories and fluids were given upon arrival, as well as an antibiotic ointment for both eyes as the right had a detached retina and the left showed blood in the vitreous area.
A: This beautiful animal started out her stay flat on her stomach, barely able to lift her head. After several days of anti-inflammatories and fluids, she was finally able to stay atop her perch. Though we were initially worried that the injuries to her eyes may have resulted in complete blindness, she pulled through and in a remarkable feat of healing, managed to clear the left eye up. The right eye will forever be glazed and useless, but as owls hunt primarily with their sense of hearing, she is still a perfectly releasable wild animal. I’m very proud to say that she is now up and about, flapping powerfully when disturbed and eating like a champ (although she persists in insisting that we hand feed her, rather than place her food on the ground).
B: Hopefully, once she is able to be moved into our outdoor raptor cage, she will realize that she is perfectly capable of picking up her own food. Another patient showing tremendous progress is a Canada gosling that Alicia and I have “taken under out wing.” The gosling came in almost two weeks ago with a luxated (dislocated) right knee which caused his/her leg to point in the completely wrong direction. After his/her 12-day leg wrap was removed today, the gosling showed inclination to stand and attempted walking about the enclosure. Lots of physical therapy is in the future of this young goose, with daily leg stretching (to lengthen those tendons that have spent so long in a tucked position) and plenty of hydrotherapy time in our tub to increase muscle stamina.
A: To be completely honest, a total leg-wrap is not necessarily standard procedure when dealing with a luxation; however, due to the animal’s age and the location of the injury, I decided to give the young animal’s naturally accelerated rate of healing a chance. I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it was for us to watch the poor thing unable to walk around for twelve days and we both bent over backwards to try and make him/her as comfortable as possible (tons of extra greens and enrichment, anyone?). We were both elated to discover that after the wrap was off, s/he had the leg pointed in the correct position and was able to support some weight on it. Keep your fingers crossed, everyone! This one’s a fighter.
B: Other fighters at the Center are three baby raccoons that we have had for about a month now. Two females were admitted in late May, emaciated and had been without mom for several days. After alerting the concerned citizen who found them that there may be more, the two girls were put under emergency care: plenty of fluids, lots of electrolytes and lots of formula laced with probiotics (to replace any gut bacteria lost during starvation) and banana baby food (to add fiber and increase the great taste of raccoon formula). Sure enough, the very next day, the same concerned citizen brought in the two brothers of those two females, both in the same condition. After (most unfortunately) losing one of the females during the first week of their stay at Chez Second Chance, all have seemed to recover, having suffered through a few rounds of oral antibiotics and several rounds of eye medications. The three survivors, though a bit stunted in size, are now on our Raccoon Porch (as of today) enjoying the new scenery and new food stuffs.
A: All the staff here at Second Chance Wildlife Center are very glad Brittany has taken it upon herself to make sure all the raccoons get moved up as they should. Other good news includes the release of a Cooper’s hawk I checked in less than two weeks ago. This patient presented with extreme lethargy, blood in the conjunctiva of both eyes and dehydration. After just a couple of days of anti-inflammatories and fluids, he was up on his feet and charging the door every time we opened his enclosure. After we were certain he could fly and perform the complex aerial maneuvers he needs to hunt, we happily wished him the best and drove him back to his home territory. I think all he really needed was a safe place to relax, heal and stuff his face.
B: This week has also seen the release of several cages of outdoor squirrels (taking a bit longer this year as we have received almost twice as many spring squirrels as normal) as well as a bunch of our former baby: White-breasted nuthatches, Eastern bluebirds, Mallards, Canada geese, Carolina wrens, American robins, Virginia opossums, Eastern cottontails, and Common grackles.
A: As a final note on the progress of our older patients- the Eastern Screech owl I mentioned in an earlier blog has been moved into an outdoor cage! After completing his loooong round of topical antibiotics, he is finally free of his persistent eye problems and is very happy flying around in his flight cage with two other Screeches. We are all so pleased to see this small yet compelling animal, now calm and content and so very close to release. All of us at Second Chance are continually inspired by the resilience, the tenacity and the natural glory these animals demonstrate every day in their fight for survival.
B: As totally hectic as the spring and summer months are, with all the babies and all the critical care patients, it is also the most rewarding time of year. Releases happen on a weekly basis, be it a few dozen former babies or an adult or two finally ready to go back home. While I may enjoy the winter months for their lack of stress, the summer months bring the most joy.
A: We hope you all draw as much inspiration from our little anecdotes as we do from the real thing. But with much less poop. Thank you all again for reading and for supporting your native wildlife. Come back next week for more updates and facts about our rehabbing experience!
Questions? Comments? The Nut House blog now has an email address! Email Alicia and Brittany at nut.house.ab@gmail.com. Want to learn more about Second Chance Wildlife Center? Simply go to www.scwc.org. 
