(Header image created with microsoft co-pilot)
Today there were 3 of us in the ambulance – and I wasn’t the third! I was the second and ‘training’ another co-driver!
I’ve always felt new at a job for however long it is until someone newer joins. The irony is that the other co-driver started the same time as me, but as I’d done more shifts I was more experienced and ‘released into the wild’ earlier. I figured we’d both be fine as long as there were no questions about boxes…! 😉
Cat
Our first mission was picking up a dead cat from the car park of a new car sales show room. He had been moved behind a parked car to keep him out of sight from (potential) customers. And as it turns out, also out of sight of the animal ambulance crew! We made our way inside to the reception for some directions where someone came very quickly to help us – or at least, get the hi-vis jackets out of the show room!
The co-driver was wary about touching dead animals, but she handled this cat bravely. The driver gave us expert demonstration on how to find the testicles to determine the sex, and if male, instructions on how to squeeze the testicles to find out if he’d been castrated. This cat was male and intact. Myself, after listening to the driver describe how things felt with a castrated cat, felt empathetically less intact.
We couldn’t find a chip, so made a note to take good photos after we’d cleaned him up back at the base. These photos would later be put online so the owner would recognise him whilst at the same time not be disturbed by the condition in which he’d been found.
Blue Tit
The next rescue was a cat attack victim – a blue tit. Many birds are already in a shoe box or trapped under a bucket or something by the time we arrive. This one was different; it was hopping around on the kitchen windowsill! The co-driver grabbed it – easily, she said, because it was small…although she did admit afterwards that she’d been pecked on her finger for her trouble. Indeed – it had turned red!
Meanwhile, I’d been busy fluffing about with getting forms filled-in and signed, and felt left out of the rescue experience. But I also remembered a co-driver from a few weeks back who was very good with talking to people and finding more about the situation around the injured animal. I decided to try the same on the next call-out.
Injured Pigeon
An injured pigeon was reported and found by the Handhaving (Enforcement) at the side of a country road. We had no house number, just a road name. The road name of a very long road, so long that we wondered how we were going to spot this pigeon. But when we spotted it, it was obvious – the Enforcement Agency’s car with hazard lights and the uniformed chap standing protectively nearby.
The pigeon lay on the road exposed and with a suspected broken wing; it stuck out at a strange angle and must have hurt because he hadn’t flown away already. (This is also a huge thumbs up to the officer who waited for our arrival which must have been at least 15 minutes).
The co-driver already had her blue gloves on, poised to move the pigeon into the rescue box. That left me to be chat with the officer, but there was nothing much further to tell – he’d found the pigeon on the road and stopped to phone us. During this brief chat, I saw from the corner of my eye the pigeon fly – complete with a broken wing – across the road, over a ditch and into the undergrowth. Evidently it had struggled free from the co-driver’s grip!
Small aside: Years ago I helped my parents move house. We loaded up the lorry with several years’ worth of belongings, many of course, with indescribable sentimental value. Dad told me he wanted to drive. Not because he didn’t trust me, but because if I drove and anything did happen for whatever reason, he didn’t want to blame me, or think that he could have done it better.
I must admit it was a little bit the same here. I had full confidence in the co-driver (she’s willing to get her finger bitten for the sake of a rescue!) but I had that awful nagging in my head, wondering whether I could have done it any better. In any case, I remembered with profound gratitude the training I got on my second shift from the driver spending a lot of time explaining and showing me how to pick up a bird firmly and quickly with hands around the wings.
Anyway. The co-driver was over the ditch like a shot! I followed, and by chance I was the lucky one to find the pigeon which happened to be just in front of me – and lucky also that it had caught itself amongst the brambles so it couldn’t easily move away. I hope I freed it without causing it any more injury or pain. For now, it was safe in my hands (my arms were a bit scratched from the brambles) and thanks to the driver the pigeon was soon safe in the rescue box.
I wanted to take a picture of the Officer so I could show my daughters – I asked his permission and he agreed. The driver suggested we should keep the picture for an article in the Animal Ambulance magazine and he agreed to that too. I might write that myself now I’m on the team! (so stand by for a link to a (Dutch) article!) (At the time, this blog wasn’t in existence, so no permission to show any faces here!)
It rained heavily as we headed over to the rescue centre, and randomly, the sun broke through. I didn’t see the rainbow, but at least there is hope for the pigeon.
Cat Preparation
Back at the base we cleaned the dead cat – a good wash and a dry with a high powered hair-dryer that tended to blow the water off the poor cat rather than assist evaporation. I was surprised how much heavier the cat was when its fur was wet – I’m not surprised cats don’t like being wet; who’d want to double their weight?
We took photos of the cat (front and each side), tagged it and put the poor cat into the freezer. I entered the details into a website that reports lost and found animals, and the co-driver forwarded the information to the internal lost and found whatsapp group so that the details could be placed on social media.
Cat Trap
We stayed on the theme of cats for our last call-out – setting a cat trap. Whilst I struggled in the ambulance to find the correct form (a cage use contract thing), my colleagues lugged the cage towards the ladies who’d made the call-out. I gave up after 10 minutes and lugged out the complete folder of paperwork which is must be as heavy as the cat cage! (Recall it comes in handy as a weight! 😉 )
The driver fluffed about with the ladies (“fluffed” = saying something in Dutch I couldn’t follow) but was able to very quickly find the right form. I’m very grateful the driver is extremely knowledgeable in these things and protocols. In fact, she works on the pikket giving telephone advice to volunteers when we’re stuck and in need of help!
Under direction, the co-driver carried the cage to another part of the huge garden – until the driver showed her it was easier to carry it with 2 people. Before I knew it, just grabbed the second handle, leaving me embarrassed as I was carrying only a sachet of cat food which we’d use as bait. As we walked, I told one of the ladies that the sachet was actually very, very heavy. She agreed! 😉
The driver laid out the trap and explained its use to the ladies – not just mechanically, but also advised on when to use it – not overnight, and approximately during the vet opening times. This was to ensure that the cat wouldn’t be in there for more than an hour, and that when caught, we could collect it and bring it directly to the vet.
Back in the ambulance the driver told me she’d seen a robot lawnmower on the grounds. These things, apparently, get into a lot of fights with cats…
Bat Immobile
By this stage I was exhausted and ready to go home, but there was an open ticket to collect a dead bat. Some children had found it not moving, and were hoping to see the animal ambulance in action. However, there was a question mark over whether they should return the bat to nature themselves (they didn’t want to; they wanted to see the ambulance) or whether an autopsy was needed to be carried out on the bat – in which case we were needed to collect it.
It turned out that an autopsy was required only if the bat had bitten someone – presumably for medical reasons, or perhaps to find out whether to expect a morphosis into Batman in a Spiderman-esque-like morph from human to superhero. As there were no bat bites, no autopsy was required and that meant the bat could be returned to nature. To the disappointment of the children, they (or their parents) were asked to do this themselves.
I was also disappointed – on behalf of the kids. And I’m proud of the work we do so it would have been nice to turn up (like superheroes! 😉 ) and show them the ambulance. And who knows…inspire them! Quite often children wave as the ambulance drives past. It’s awesome to be a part of this!
On my side, I would have liked to have seen a bat up close (though preferably not dead). But yeah, I was shattered so also grateful to go straight back to the base then head home.
Back at the base I saw the IT Guy who had emailed me to give me access to the animal ambulance magazine shared drive, and also offered to translate my English writing into Dutch. So I should be all set to write there! 🙂
