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This blog reflects my personal experiences and opinions and does not represent or reflect those of DierenAmbulance Nederrijn.
Sometimes there are unpleasant tasks that need to be carried out on site, and I was asked to do one of them when I arrived. I thought this was odd because there were 2 other volunteers sitting out their 30 minutes ‘buffer time’ (the time towards the end of the shift when we’re not ‘obligated’ to set off on a new rescue) who could have done it. Or one of the paid staff. But more important, there was an animal to rescue taking priority over a cleaning task that, I was told, could wait till the following day.
Sally and I jumped into the ambulance, but we needed to wait; the bonnet was open whilst someone sprayed it with a marten deterent. We didn’t want the little things eating and damaging various parts of the engine!
Young pigeon
Our first rescue was for a young pigeon that was found unmoving on top of some stairs. The finder placed a basket over him for protection until we picked him up.
The stairs lead to the entrance of a busy building, so Sally positioned herself such that the door wouldn’t hit the basket when it opened.
The pigeon was easy to hold, and it was easy to see he had something wrong with his tail. At first we weren’t sure whether the pigeon was was young and fluffy, or an older bird of a sleeker species such as a turtle dove. We opted for the former.
Cat attack(?): Pigeon with neck and eye wound
This pigeon was found in an alleyway next to a house. The finder tried to put him in a box, or a box around him, but in any case the box was too small. Sadly this wasn’t a problem because the pigeon was in a very bad way with a nasty open wound on his neck and eye.
Lots of feathers on the floor nearby made me think he was a cat attack victim. But I also saw some spikes nearby which I’m guessing are pigeon deterents. If this is the case, I’m pleased the finder has a heart for this pigeon and gave us a call.
Sally thought he’d be put down. I was more hopeful, though in all honesty we’re both ignorant of what happens behind the closed doors of the rescue centre. As I type and think back – why on Earth didn’t we phone ahead to alert them of a bird in need of urgent help? That was a big mistake :(.
Incidentally, 3 of the animal care staff were on a break outside when we arrived. I wondered how they felt when they’re taking a pause from their busy day and see us bringing in more animals, i.e. adding more work in their ‘in-box’. Then again, they didn’t seem to see us, so perhaps they didn’t worry about it!
We left the rescue centre with nothing left on our list other than collecting some clothes. Then an emergency:
Emergency: Injured cat found on busy intersection
A cat had been run over at a cross-road, and lay in the central reservation. He was still alive and needed immediate attention. Sally drove as fast as she was permitted and safe to do so; I’ve never seen her like this before – and I’m glad she behaved in this way, showing her heart is in a good place. There was a lot of frustration with the traffic who seemed to conspire against us.
We’re not allowed to use flashing lights or sirens. There are a many people who have a problem with us driving to rescue small animals or wild animals, and I imagine it’s these kinds of people who’d have a problem slowing down in their car for 2 seconds to let an animal ambulance through. I suggested to Sally perhaps a good solution was to be allowed the lights and sirens for pets. But anyway. No use whinging – all we could do was drive.
Aside from the traffic, the journey to the find location was also tough because the instructions were not clear. The navigation told us that the 2 road names we were given didn’t intersect! But the centralist called us a bit later and let us know the finder had moved the cat to the side of the road and was there waiting for us. But the tragic news was the cat had now passed 🙁
Sally spotted the finder and thankfully was able to park nearby.
The cat was an adult and was for the most part clean. His face showed some injuries but the rest of him looked intact. His body was still warm and floppy. I checked for his pulse behind his back leg and couldn’t feel anything; indeed his eyes were already losing their shine and taking on a mat look. I had a look a his claws; they were still sharp. This surprised me as I’ve heard that cats involved in road accidents often have blunt claws as they scrape them along the tarmac in panic.
I tried twice to find a chip but had no success. Sadly, this beautiful white and red/orange cat officially had no owner.
We placed him into a bag and then a box, called the finder back to sign the finders form (we weren’t sure whether this was necessary for a deceased cat) and brought the cat (and the magazine the finder didn’t want) back to the ambulance.
A little out of chronological order now, but to keep like with like. We brought the cat back to the base where I took some more photos of him that could be used on amivedi.nl. He was already clean, so Sally put a tag on him and we placed him into the freezer.
I registered him with amivedi.nl and Sally showed me how to alert the animal ambulance lost-and-found-group about the ‘rescue’ so they could enter the details on social media.
Coughing Hedgehog
In the same town as the cat was a coughing hedgehog. The notes in the admin were unclear, and combined with the knowledge that hedgehogs can make all kinds of weird and wonderful noises, we called the centralist up for clarification. Yes – the hedgehog needed picking up!
The finder greeted us with a handshake and introduction. This is the first time this has ever happened to me! 🙂 She lead us through her beautiful garden towards a home-made hedgehog shelter. Like the finders last week, these finders also had a love for hedgehogs!
It was quite a struggle removing logs and the roof from the shelter, but success manifested, and all that remained for me to do was lifting a smaller shelter from the ground to reveal the large hedgehog. He was probably the most timid hedgehog I’ve encountered!
I held him gently at his sides to give him some time to become accustomed to me being there. I saw his prickles waver as he rolled up. When I thought he’d finished, I reached underneath to him stomach and lifted him up carefully, remembering last time I did this my finger was stabbed!
But now another surprise! He continued curling; a really tight grip around my fingers! It was like he was giving me a handshake – and also an introduction because he squealed a little! (Note: in reality, both of these behavioural characteristics show the hedgehog is uncomfortable). Sally thought I may have touched an injured stomach and caused pain. I sincerely hope this wasn’t the case.
I remember being told somewhere that a good way to pick up hedgehogs was letting them grip 2 fingers with their curled stomach, and they could hang happily upside-down whilst I move them to wherever i want to move them to. I’m not sure if I trust this (or indeed, a high school biology teacher that told us you could hand babies on washing lines when their tiny hands grip the lines tightly…) but I can see – or indeed fell – the ounce of truth behind the reasoning.
The finders, familiar with hedgehogs, saw the hedgehog had difficulty breathing when he drunk, and that his poop was thin and and green. This can indicate stress, a diet change, or infection / parasites. I made a note in the admin and gave the rescue number to the finders who were interested in his progress. We advised them that the wildlife rescue centre are at best slow, with communication.
I placed the hedgehog into a cupboard there, first of all wanting to choose one in the shade, but them deciding to go for a different one which was more visible. Why take chances of him being missed?
Final Tasks
Filling up with diesel and helping someone move a freezer ready for cleaning, now that it was empty.
All in all, this was another shift with not many rescues, but a lot of time spent on the road. It’s this latter part which drains energy, but as always I’m thankful for Sally. I’ll shortly be losing my regular shifts with her as I embark upon my internship at an animal hotel and instead be planning myself in when there’s an available slot. I’ll still have my toes in the water, but it won’t be the same temperature!
