(Almost) always ready to hang out with Karen and see what adventure occurs, I joined her around 3:00pm. We drove from one side of Virginia Beach to the other and back in a crazy circle. After picking up a goose with a completely broken wing at Ridgley Manor, we headed to Ft. Story for a seriously injured little brown bat, and then to Stumpy Lake for a horribly injured Canada goose. Unfortunately, all three were so badly injured and suffering that no medical treatment, no matter how heroic, would have saved these three.
Was there any good news? Well, yes. The SPCA vets, vet techs, and rehabbers are willing to go to heroic measures to save all animals in need, but only after they weigh all the factors - primarily the amount of suffering an animal will incur and its future quality of life. This was the first time I'd been to the SPCA wildlife center with Karen when an animal needed a vet check. I was touched by how kind and gentle Barb and Cara, the SPCA vet techs, were as they checked the animals - softly talking to each, moving slowly so as not to frighten them, and carefully checking their condition and injuries. On this day, each animal was so critically injured that euthanasia was the only humane treatment possible. What a bummer, but today was also filled with so much kindness, not only from the SPCA but also in our community.
Huge thanks and many kudos to the people who call in and report these animals in need. While we weren't able to save these particular animals today, they were, at least, put out of their suffering and escaped a long and agonizing death in pain, fear, and miserable heat. We don't always get the names of these good Samaritans, but today, I did. Karen and I were so grateful to meet Vishal Kamal who not only noticed and called in the goose with the fractured wing, but also helped Karen net her. We enjoyed talking to him and were touched by his compassion for animals.
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