Hollybank won this years Scarecrow Competition! Well done to Sarah Cox, our fabulous receptionist for putting so much hard work and effort in yet again!
Brave Pet of the Month…Aysia
Aysia is gorgeous little Pomeranian who came down to us as an emergency one evening. She had been jumped on by another dog and afterwards her owners had noticed a problem with her eye. They rushed her straight down to be examined.
Aysia’s left eye was hanging out of it’s socket. This is known as a prolapsed globe. The attachments at the back of the eye had become loose and strain was placed onto the optic nerve. Thankfully Aysia had no other injuries but her eye was of real concern and required emergency treatment. The longer the eye was out for, the greater the risk of blindness in that eye.
Unfortunately the eye had come too far out for us to replace it easily and so Aysia was admitted to the hospital. She was given pain relief and sedated whilst we tried gentle manipulation of the eye to see if it would go back in with Aysia more relaxed. Unfortunately too much swelling around the eye had occurred and so it would no longer fit back in. We would have to try and replace the eye under a general anaesthetic; to do this we made a cut at the edge of the eyelids to extend them outwards and widen the eye opening. This allowed us to pop the eye back into the socket.
Aysia’s eyelids were sutured close to keep her eye from coming straight back out again, taking care to ensure the suture did not rub on the surface of her eye. Despite the surgery, there was a risk that Aysia’s sight would be permanently lost and we would not know for sure until we removed the sutures in two weeks’ time. Aysia was discharged on a course of antibiotics and pain relief. She also had to wear a buster collar to stop her rubbing at her eye.
We initially checked Aysia back a few days after the procedure and she seemed very comfortable. We then saw her two weeks after the surgery and removed the sutures. She was such a brave girl we were able to do this conscious. Thankfully her eye stayed in place and she could see!
She had an ulcer on the surface of her eye (the cornea) shown by the green dye. This was likely sustained at the time of injury. We treated that with some eye drops for a week and it resolved without any further complications. Aysia was a really good girl and we are so pleased to have such a positive outcome for her.
Baby birds this Spring and Summer
During spring and summer high numbers of young birds and fledglings are brought to us by members of the public. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to release these birds back into the wild so it is really important to make sure that these birds truly need our intervention.
We hope the following information will help in your assessment of any baby birds you may find this Summer.
The bird I have found has no feathers: If the bird has no feathers at all, this is what we would call a nestling. Nestlings require protection from their nest and will not survive without it. Please ring us and we will be able to put you in contact with the nearest wildlife support officer.
The bird I have found has feathers: These birds are what we would call fledglings. Fledglings leave the nest just before they can fly and spend 2-3 days on the ground; the parents are usually nearby, even if they cannot be seen, and continue to feed them. However tempting, interfering with these young birds will do more harm than good and you should not touch a baby bird unless you feel it is genuinely injured or abandoned. You can monitor the bird from a distance and if in immediate danger you can move it to shelter a short distance away.
Why are these young birds hard to release back into the wild? Young birds need to be released exactly where found and as quickly as possible as the adults may leave the area and therefore not care for the youngster. Most of these young birds have to be taken to rescue centres, which can cause unnecessary stress and sadly death.
If you find a bird then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01606 880890 so we can help you further