Patient #4271
Jul. 31st, 2008 20:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillThere's a mourning dove that was hanging around here yesterday and today. It was unusual because it would let people get within a couple of feet of it without seeming worried. It could fly just fine, it just didn't feel a need to.
It landed on my mom's car this evening, and sat there on the trunk when I came up to it. It seemed almost sleepy, though it woke up real fast if I tried to get a hand anywhere near it. So I eased forward when it blinked or looked away, a little at a time. I must have taken fifteen minutes to move a foot. At one point it walked toward me, which was odd as well. So I waited, brought my hands up slowly, leaned forward... and... *pounce*
I nabbed it perfectly with a two-hand grab. I cradled it gently, and it made no protest, didn't try to peck me or struggle. It trembled slightly. This was one sick bird. My dad and I put it in a cardboard box, short enough that it couldn't flap properly and injure itself. Dark, cramped spaces make birds sleep, especially sick ones.
I checked the hours for the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital; they're open until 8, and it was just after 7:30, so I sped over there and dropped it off. They'll take care of it.
I'm not much for mourning doves -- they're very stupid animals -- but I'm a softie. Every so often I'm struck by the fact that I'm all for natural selection in the abstract, but I can't stand back and let an animal come to harm if I know about it.
It landed on my mom's car this evening, and sat there on the trunk when I came up to it. It seemed almost sleepy, though it woke up real fast if I tried to get a hand anywhere near it. So I eased forward when it blinked or looked away, a little at a time. I must have taken fifteen minutes to move a foot. At one point it walked toward me, which was odd as well. So I waited, brought my hands up slowly, leaned forward... and... *pounce*
I nabbed it perfectly with a two-hand grab. I cradled it gently, and it made no protest, didn't try to peck me or struggle. It trembled slightly. This was one sick bird. My dad and I put it in a cardboard box, short enough that it couldn't flap properly and injure itself. Dark, cramped spaces make birds sleep, especially sick ones.
I checked the hours for the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital; they're open until 8, and it was just after 7:30, so I sped over there and dropped it off. They'll take care of it.
I'm not much for mourning doves -- they're very stupid animals -- but I'm a softie. Every so often I'm struck by the fact that I'm all for natural selection in the abstract, but I can't stand back and let an animal come to harm if I know about it.
