(Header image created with microsoft co-pilot)
This blog reflects my personal experiences and opinions and does not represent or reflect those of DierenAmbulance Nederrijn.
The morning team told me they’d been quiet and there was nothing to do so I expected a slow start and a cup of coffee. Moment later Sally burst onto the scene and told me we could leave now to pick up the first animal in need. The coffee would need to wait!
Window Victim: Turtle Dove
The finders were familiar with birds in their garden who they encouraged to spend their time there. They were also familiar with birds colliding with windows, and knew after a period of 30 – 60 minutes of motionless confusion, birds could suddenly get back up and fly off again. Indeed, they’d made a special place for birds to recover until their ‘Lazarus moment’.
But this bird one was different. The collision was last night, and she was still very restful and not inclined to move. Something was wrong. She lay in a box with some bird seed and water. The finder picked him up and stroked him – it was beautiful to see this love between human and animal!
It became evident the bird had hurt her right wing so I noted this in the admin ready for the staff at the wildlife rescue centre.
Delivered mag
Hardly worth a mention really, but it was one of the few tasks on our list today!
Yellow Cockatiel
“A yellow bird that might be a parakeet or a canary,” said the admin.
“A yellow cockatiel,” said google lens. But in any case, what’s in a name when it comes to this sweet little thing?!
Or maybe He wasn’t so sweet…
He stood in a semi-open box. I opened it carefully so I could take a photo for hte admin, but the way he moved gave me cause to think he could fly. I grabbed hold of him quickly and asked Sally to take the picture. I wish she did it faster because the cockatiel wasn’t happy about being held and pecked my fingers! Thankfully it wasn’t with the pointy sharp end of his beak, but inside where it’s flat so there was no pain!
Sally was in discussion with the finders. They’d found him on the street and brought him inside because they recognised he was probably someone’s pet. We’d bring him to the wildlife rescue centre (who also deal with ringed pigeons and pet birds such as these). I don’t know how – or even if it’s possible without a ring – they will determine who the owner is.
Donated Clothes
A task that I admittedly find a boring chore, but it does bring in a little cash. With no more rescues on our list we doubled back from the rescue centre to a location where clothes are donated for Stichting Dierenlot. We put them in the back of the ambulance and set off back to the base.
On the way, (which included a tricky reverse along a narrow lane) the centralist gave us a call asking whether we’d mind picking up a bird that had collided with a window. Of course we didn’t mind!
Gull: Window collision and fall
This bird (the admin said a blackbird) hit a window and fell 12 m to the floor. The instructions to get to the location on an industrial park were somewhat vague, but thankfully the finder waved us down when we parked up ready to embark on a long search and rescue mission!
The bird – which was definitely not a blackbird – was in a large box on a towel. She looked more like a pigeon, but when I picked her up I saw webbed feet! The finder told us, “Yeah, it’s a merel” (i.e. a blackbird) to which Sally clarified he said “meeuw” (a gull) – which made a lot more sense!
Like the turtle dove from earlier, I noted this bird also had an injured right wing. And like the cockatiel from earlier, this little lady pecked at my finger too! I moved her into a rescue box and we headed to another rescue that had just come in.
Rabbit with a long front tooth
This rabbit had wandered through a neighbourhood for around 3 years. Someone noticed he had trouble eating because one of his front teeth was very long, so they gave us a call to pick him up. The centralist let us know we could bring him to a local rabbit shelter.
He was in a box waiting for us when we arrived – being himself waited upon by the neighbourhood finders! He seemed semi-tame (note I’m no rabbit expert) and was happy enough to be stroked and petted. I really liked how his rugged fur felt; quite different from the soft fluffy fur I’d expect from a rabbit.
I was shocked when I first saw him because there was an enormous white growth by his mouth. Was this mould or some weird tooth thing? Then it fell off…it was just food!!!
One of the finders placed him into our rescue box and the younger finders said their goodbyes to the rabbit that had been around them for years. A neighbour was called over to say her goodbyes too. She told us she loved it when she opened her garden gate or back door and saw the rabbit nearby, asking to be let through!
Sally suggested we see if the rabbit was chipped; it wasn’t, but it was worth a try! So she had another good idea. She suggested to the finders they get together and bring the rabbit to the vet themselves. The dental costs could be shared and they’d be able to keep their community rabbit. We were both surprised that no-one was willing to do this.
They checked and signed the finder’s declaration form to confirm they weren’t the owners, and that was that.
Finding the address of the rabbit shelter was a pain. It’s not listed on their website because they work from their home and only want rabbits brought to them through official channels (such as the animal ambulance). And despite my bad language, I couldn’t find it listed in that dratted huge folder ‘full of’ helpful forms and information sheets. We called the centralist and she let us know.
On the way I completed the admin. When it came to the drop down menu for the location of the shelter I selected the appropriate name – and the address came up automatically!
With the Rabbit Expert
The rabbit expert (and her dogs!) met us at the grounds and immediately got busy checking the rabbit. She explained her ‘findings’ as she went, commenting his fur indicated he was inbred, his nails were ground down from the rough surfaces he’d walked on, and most importantly, his teeth. He had one huge front tooth sticking out, another growing in the wrong direction, and another tooth that looked like it had broken and a part had snapped off.
I was really impressed with how she was able to handle the rabbit who wriggled a lot in unfamiliar hands and surroundings and with unfamiliar people. At times I saw his legs quiver and then kick. I expect he must have been strong!
The bottom line is he is too weak now to survive a full tooth removal surgery. He’ll be force fed so he can gain strength, have his teeth ground so he can eat himself, and then have the surgery. There was mention of a trip to a nearby vet who’s an expert in rabbits (and rodents).
I’m reminded again how great the Netherlands is with the availability of (expert and emergency) help for animals! 🙂
We left the rabbit and the finder’s form (and nearly the rescue box which I was reminded to pick up!*) and got back to the ambulance. I mentioned to Sally how I was impressed with the knowledge and skills the expert had – and also the willingness to explain things to us. She replied I’d be the same soon with the para training. I wonder if she’s right!
* It was par for the course as I’d left the chip reader and tablet with the finders and I needed to run back from the ambulance to collect them before we left!
At the Rescue Centre
We brought the gull to the rescue centre. It seemed a long time ago since we’d picked him up outside the industrial building. Sally went off to look for the rescue box anti-escape sticks we’d asked for whilst I placed the gull inside the cupboard. It seemed the staff had forgotten to leave any sticks out for us; we made a mental note to grab some from another (unused) ambulance when we were back at the base.
Back at the Base
We threw the bags of donated clothes into the storage room, washed the rabbit transport box, and pointed out to the following team (who were keen to get going) that the ambulance needed ,ore cages and boxes.
I completely forgot to mention the ant-escape sticks…
Back at home
I was hoping to have a chat with the roster planner but unfortunately I didn’t get to see her today. My internship with an animal hotel begins in mid September, and I’m being planned in so I get to have a range of tasks / learning experiences with people who are able to show and explain to me what’s going on. TO make this easier for them, I told them I”m completely flexible with my time (apart from my days in class!)
But this means there’s a chance that an internship shift will clash with my regular Wednesday afternoon slot with the ambulance. That creates a potential for pulling out of an animal ambulance shift. I suggested to the planner it might be handier if she takes me out of the ambulance roster completely until I have my internship roster so she can definitively plan someone else in.
She agreed – and it feels strange for me that according to the roster, my upcoming days with the animal ambulance are numbered 🫨. In any case, I’ll still be able to slide into a vacant shift, though I’m certain I’ll miss my Wednesday afternoons with Sally.
