The one with the baby bird

Yesterday I was standing in the kitchen, preparing a gourmet breakfast of kibbies, green beans and other miscellaneous doggie medications/supplements when John came in through the garage door and sadly announced that he just came upon a baby bird in the driveway. As we always seem to do when we’re at a loss for words/actions, John and I stood in the kitchen looking hopelessly at each other in pure silence. “Well, show me where he is.” I finally said, not knowing what our options were at this point. We went outside and I sat down on the driveway, a foot or so from the poor feather-less bird. He (actually we don’t have any clue of gender) hung out near me, looking around, moving here and there for a bit. After a minute or two this little tiny bird with the biggest beak I’ve ever seen, looked up at me, turned his head to the side in a curious manner just like they do in cartoons and it was at that moment that I got a flash in my head. Ang, the main character on “Avatar: The Last Air Bender”, popped into my head saying ever so clearly “All life is sacred.” I knew this already. I knew we had to help the poor little bird because his feathers hadn’t fully developed, we couldn’t find a nest to put him in, not a single bird in the neighborhood found it prudent to defend this little guy and we have out 10 bazillion outdoor cats in our neighborhood. The problem was, what do we do?

When it comes to dogs, I can pretty much feel my way through most situations. I may not know how to handle every dog “situation” but many times I at least know what not to do. But birds? No clue. The thought of grinding up worms to feed this poor guy actually flashed through my head. How in the world would I even accomplish the task of grinding up worms if I wound up deciding it to be a good idea? We decided we could probably call the Wildlife Rescue when one of our favorite neighbors and her beautiful German Shepard walked by. “Do you have any idea what to do with a baby bird?” I called out. She didn’t but she wound up having a better idea. Call the vet. Geez. Why oh why do the simple solutions always seem to evade us?

We put Mr. Bird into a cardboard box and came into the house to make the call. Fortunately, our vet (Deerfield Animal Hospital - 14855 Blanco Rd # 104, San Antonio, TX 78216, (210) 492-5575) referred us to the Castle-West Animal Hospital (11105 West Ave, San Antonio, TX 78213, Directions(210) 344-8259) who serves as a drop point for all homeless, needy wildlife. Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation (http://www.wildlife-rescue.org/) picks up orphaned members of the wild each day from Castle-West and nurses them back to heath. They operate on donations only so if you ever have spare change they can certainly use it.

Last night, while trying to calm my brain as I relaxed in bed, I had to wonder what Mr. Bird was up to.  I hope he was safe, warm and falling asleep with a full belly!  Good luck, Mr. Bird.  Come back and visit when your feathers arrive!

This entry was posted on Thu, Jul 24 2008 at 20:37 and is filed under Vanessa's Ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.