Trepidation
Over the summer it was very busy with birds in shoe boxes and I could move them from there to the rescue box. And a few other animals. Recently there have been less rescue calls, and the call-outs that have come in are in locations further away from the base, and cost more time spent in the ambulance because of the confounded roadworks.
This was in the back-burner of my mind this morning, and also that I was the driver destined to struggle reading complex traffic cone layouts, navigating past loud noisy machinery, and workmen shouting directions and pointing at me telling me I was doing it wrong. Add the confusion over whether we were allowed to drive – as an ambulance – along the bus lane and avoid the queues, drive over a key roundabout which is closed to ‘regular’ drivers, etc., etc., I wasn’t looking forward to it.
When I arrived at the base I received a nice greeting from the 2 centralists and the ambulance crew already there, and even got a pat on the shoulder (I think it was aimed for the back, but remember I’m living amongst tall Dutchies! 😉 )
I was reminded in that flash of a moment that this is also a social place! 🙂
Three Rescue Calls
Not for us. The centralist handed all 3 incoming calls to the other team. It makes sense because I was on “Team 2” i.e. the back-up team for when Team 1 are busy. All 3 of their rescues were close to each other so it made sense. That said, I asked the centralist if she was sure she couldn’t hand something over to Team 2. She told me I could wash the ambulances whilst I waited if I like(!). “My wife has a big list of chores for me to do at home!” I cried back, “I come here to escape these chores!”
“Well in that case,” she says, “You only need to wash my car!”
It’s a good job she was joking – her car is so filthy with leaves and mud spatters, it’s more like a mobile bonsai forest!
Baby Squirrel
‘Thankfully’ a rescue call came in soon afterwards – a baby squirrel was found in the garden of a resident. We were to pick it up, and depending on its condition, bring it to the local rescue centre (who takes in birds and small wild mammals), or a specialist squirrel rescue centre.
Aside: My wife calls me a squirrel because I run around quickly from thing to thing! So I was particularly attached to this rescue!
The squirrel was found at a house with metal gates and a car parked awkwardly at the side. This means, in practice, that whilst I was farting about finding the right box in the ambulance to put the squirrel into, the co-driver who was already on the scene and greeted by the finder, was wedged between the car and the fence. This meant I couldn’t get a good look at my new furry little kindred spirit, let alone get him into the box 🙁
I must admit a word of wisdom my youngest daughter imparted to me when we played the game “Machiavelli” a couple of years ago:
Daddy, decide what you want, and then try really hard to do anything you can to get it!
So I did. I dumped the box and squeezed myself next to Mr Wedgey to see what was going on.
The squirrel was clearly in trouble. As usual, I was impressed with how carefully and attentively Wedgey examined our patient. He couldn’t see any injuries, although every now and then we saw the squirrel’s mouth open as if yawning – except his white tummy heaved whilst he did so. I asked the finder if he knew what had happened, but he didn’t; he’d found him in his garden and given us a call.
We asked him to fill a hot water bottle for us to help keep the squirrel warm, and Wedgey called the squirrel sanctuary for advice.
I found the advice worrying; so did Wedgey – he’d waited tactfully until we were both in ambulance out of earshot of the finder to share the information with me. The squirrel goes to the local rescue centre if he’s not gonna make it; they can feed him until he dies, or euthanise him. If he’s able to fight a few more a days, he goes to the sanctuary but where there’s no in house vet to look after him medically. We were to wait half an hour to see how he was, then make the decision.
I knew it was going to be difficult. Would I be able to drive a dying squirrel to be euthanised? I don’t want to get into the morals of euthanasia, but it seems to me that humans are very quick to come to decisions about euthanising only when it concerns animals.
It was a difficult drive back to the base with this on my mind, and I know Wedgey struggled too. Traffic was heavy, but I noticed other drivers tend to give way when they see the ambulance. I was very grateful to be let onto a busy roundabout so I was sure to give the lady who waved me in a huge grateful smile (also on behalf of the squirrel!)
By the time we got back to the base the squirrel had entered his eternal sleep 🙁 I was surprised that his little body was already stiffening. As we didn’t know what had happened to him, we couldn’t return him to nature in case he carried a disease. Rest in peace my little friend.
Dog Gone!
A phone call from the police! They wanted us to read the chip of a dog – though by the time I’d got my jacket on they’d called us again and cancelled the request. Presumably the dog’s owner had returned. I remembered my semi-unpleasant experience the last time I was called out to read the chip of a dog, so I’m not sure how I felt about this cancellation.
Dogs, Come!
The base is situated near a forest where plenty of dogs regularly walk their people, and train them into letting them approach the reception where dog biscuits and animal lovers await them. 3 such dogs wandered over for their treats; I must make a better point of remembering their names!
Team 1
Sadly I wasn’t involved in these rescues, but Team 1 came back to the base with some of their ‘spoils’ which I couldn’t resist taking a look at!
Baby Hedgehog
This little hedgehog was found on a road, destined to be flattened by either a vehicle or become a plaything by a local cat who was seen nearby.
Normally it would be brought to the local rescue centre because it’s too small to hibernate (hedgehogs need to weigh over 600g (about the weight of 12 eggs) to survive hibernation) but new rules now apply depending whether the hedgehog has teeth or not, and whether it can feed itself independently. This is problematic because if you know how prickly hedgehogs are, you can only guess what their teeth are like – let alone what it’s like feeling around inside their mouth for them. And how on Earth can you see if a stressed hedgehog is capable of eating by itself when it just wants to hide and have some peace and quiet?
To make matters worse, when the team phoned the rescue centre (several times) to let them know they had a hedgehog, no-one answered the 24/7 line (admittedly they’re incredibly busy). So the baby hedgehog was brought back to the base until contact can be made with the rescue centre. Underneath the towel in the picture is a hot water bottle to help keep him warm.
Unfollow the white rabbit
Another sad story.
What complete cretinous crap-head human creature would dump a rabbit in a forest?
I’ll quote a line on the website of the local rescue centre which directly addresses the fate of this rabbit (though admittedly I think in this case, the rabbit will go via external chauffeur to a different rescue centre because (s)he’s tame)
“The wild animals that end up in shelters are often there because they have collided with humans. Therefore, we feel that we have a moral duty to help these animals.”
And I wholeheartedly agree with this tennet!
