Wildcare Inc

Mark came back from a rainy afternoon dog walk and told me he saw an injured bird in the park. He couldn't get too close to it with Poppy on the leash so he came home and asked me what I thought we should do. He said he thought the bird had been mauled by something but he couldn't get close enough to it to see how badly it was injured or even to tell what kind of bird it was. I told him I thought we should get a box and go back and get it.

After finding a box, we retraced Mark's steps and found the bird. It was a mourning dove, sitting next to the sidewalk, missing lots of feathers (including its tail feathers) and looking miserably cold and wet. Mark got it into the box and we brought it home and put it in our warm bedroom, where it would be safe from Poppy. After doing some online research, I called and left a message with Wildcare Inc., a local organization that rehabilitates injured animals. I made the first call at 10:30 in the morning. I got no answer so I left a message. Two hours later I still hadn't gotten a call back so I called again and left another message. We checked on the bird several times during the day to make sure it was still alive and finally put a little dish of water in with it.

Around 4:00, Mark called again, left another message and finally someone called back and told us we could drop the bird off at their office between 6:00 and 7:00. The place is about 6 miles from where we live and we managed to get there around 6:30. They took the bird in another room and while they were examining it, I took this photo. On the left is a framed photo of some of the rescued animals they have rehabilitated, on the right are some Cat Bibs, which apparently can keep a cat from catching birds. I had never seen such a thing, but apparently they are recommended by the Audobon society. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the injured bird, but I didn't want to freak it out by trying to get close enough to get a good picture.