Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation 10491 S. 4190 Rd Claremore, Ok 74017 918)341-9629 SPRING 2004 EDITION IT'S OFFICIAL! Spring is HERE! I have always been a spring time nut. I think most of us are. The buds on the trees and the sweet smell of life in the air renews me each year. It also begins my favorite and most exhausting time of year. Orphan season! The babies have been slow coming in so far, which I always have mixed emotions about. I'm always ready to rock and roll by mid Feb, but I do enjoy the extra time to get ready and enjoy the weather before the feces hits the fan in the clinic. We have had some interesting events so far. I would like to share a few of them. First of all, let me mention a terrific success that occurred this week. Lisa Gibbs, a student at Tulsa's Community Care College Veterinary Tech program, headed a supplies drive for us among her class. The students scheduled a visit last Friday to bring supplies and meet the critters they were assisting. As always, I want my visitors to see perfection, and I drove everyone crazy the few days before making sure everything looked as neat and organized as possible. Of course, Murphy's Law is quite active in my life. The sewer pipe collapsed the day before the visit and the yard from the house to the fence had to be dug up. Okay, fine. I can slit my wrists after the visit, but the facility still needs to make a good impression, so I will keep cleaning. Only one problem. I can't use water. It has no where to go. The animal laundry was piled up and the dishes still needed washed. Have you ever done laundry using a 5 gallon bucket to empty the washer? I have. Do you know how many 5 gallon buckets of water a load of laundry uses? I do. No wonder my water bill is so ridiculous! Anyway, the class arrived. I was so excited to learn they were training vet techs! FINALLY! A group that might be interested in all my medical rambling! I've worked very hard for many years to educate myself to care for these animals and I love to teach. I had a blast. The students were so incredibly polite and inquisitive and they had a wonderful instructor. I think her and I could have yakked all day long! The class had come bearing all kinds of needed supplies. I was thrilled! Less to worry about. The greatest gift for a volunteer. They also had a wad of cash for the donation jar. We went straight to the feed store and stocked up the next day. Annette is so happy when the feed room is full! An employee had stopped by from the Veterans Hospital in Claremore that morning. The famous area swans were in trouble. The female was sick and needed help. No one the man contacted would help her. This man had been calling everyone he could think of that might help. Out of desperation, he made the trek to Foyil and got directions to my house from the local gas station. I could tell he was ready to beg me if that's what it took. It wasn't necessary. I had the time, but wasn't sure how in the world I was going to catch a swan. I'd done it before, but I had been lucky. These birds are incredible to work with. They are truly majestic giants in grace and beauty. The males will protect the females with unabated aggression. It is dangerous to capture a female with the male standing watch. I was nervous, but the ladies and gentleman from Tulsa Community Care College were ready to go! And we did. We convoyed to the Veterans Hospital and arrived looking like some strange cult. The students were all professionally dressed in their scrubs and ID tags. Their fearless leader, (me) was in jeans wearing a white T-shirt smeared with muddy raccoon prints carrying a dusty tool box with various parts of latex gloves shut in it. (Hadn't cleaned my trauma box out since the last road side emergency) I didn't know what I would need, but I also had a roll of vet wrap tucked in my pocket. Makes a GREAT emergency muzzle! We walked the entire length of the hospital behind the assistant administrator, Bob Weeks. He was very concerned about the swan as well. Glad to see us, though a bit shocked at the procession I'm sure. I think the residents thought they were being raided. Poor folks. We found the female swan nesting between a building and a wall. The male was off in the pond, flirting with the geese. (Figures) It was a perfect set up for a safe and easy capture. Everyone took their positions and did exactly as I asked without hesitation. The female swan was weak and non confrontational. She had been sitting an empty nest for over a week. Not a good sign. Muzzle in place, we loaded her and were soon at our favorite clinic, Hooves, Paws and Claws where Doctor Cash was delivering a baby goat. We left the swan in a stall and in the Doctor's professional hands. This animal, though owned by no one that I'm aware of, is special to so many, especially the hospital bound residents that enjoy hours of the swans peaceful presence at the pond. I wasn't about to guess at her care. We crossed our fingers and the group parted with a successful capture and a story to share when they got home. What a day! The next morning, Doctor Cash called me with a description of a very different animal. She had fixed her problem and she was ready to go. Of course, not being a poultry expert of any kind, I was amazed! When I got to the clinic with my brother in tow, an extremely POed swan was there to greet me! My modest miracle worker vet seemed as shocked as I was at her quick and complete recovery. It was a short rodeo and she was quickly loaded in my jeep and on her way home to her worried mate. (who was STILL out flirting with the geese!) We released her to him while many grateful residents and employees thanked us and promised to keep a close watch on her condition, and the two reunited swans tipped their wings to each other and their necks became a graceful heart shape, just exactly like you see in the statues and paintings. It was breathtaking! Of course, as always, Annette forgot her camera. I want to thank the students of TCCC for their help and their support. They have chosen us to do their volunteer credit work and we will schedule a rotation during the busy spring months. I'm so grateful! I know they will enjoy their education on the 'wild side' during their time here. I have to update you on a very special case that has once again amazed me. This winter we held 6 raccoons for various reasons. Some too tame, one too fat, and two injured. Georgia had come in last year with a broken back. She was paralyzed in the back end. Doctor Cash and I worked diligently trying to help her after Georgia would rally and crash again and again, and was finally able to regain most of her back legs with steroids before winter set in. I decided to let her den outside with Pete, another back injury raccoon that was never totally paralyzed and just needed months of time to heal. Once the weather warmed, I pulled the raccoons to examine them. Pete was so ready to go that all I had to do was open the cage. He was wild as can be and walking perfectly. Georgia was such another story. The poor baby had eaten well all winter. The food bowl never left with a crumb. I had assumed all was going well, not wanting to further tame her by constant exams, I watched her from a distance at night as she foraged and left her alone with Pete to become a small band to release together. She had stopped coming out to visit me and I let her separate from me and become a wild thing. I had called her absence incorrectly. She was in trouble the later days of winter. I missed it. The blood had stopped flowing to her rear legs. In her hibernation and reduced activity, circulation had nearly stopped. Her feet were white as paper and rotting, many toe bones protruding and nearly all the fur had fallen out from a perfect line where she had originally been injured, to the tip of her tail. It looked like a grotesque pair of pants on a perfectly healthy raccoon. Her eyes were bright and full of intelligence and will. Her useless legs dangling dead behind her. It tore my heart out. I wanted to turn in my license and take up knitting or something. It was excruciating for me, but Georgia didn't seem to notice. She was just so happy to see me. I brought her in to the clinic and cleaned her mangled feet, wincing at the decomposing toe bones and flesh. I fixed her a soft, comfy bed in a giant dog crate, and called Doctor Cash the next day about euthanizing my dear little girl. I wasn't going to put her thought any more trials. It wasn't fair. After a few days of love and care, treats and tears, goodbyes and prayers, I was trying to get up the courage to say farewell to my little crippled coonie friend. As always, Georgia wanted out of her crate to play in the floor with the dogs, and I decided that though her feet were still a mess, they had actually been looking better. The Nolvisan was doing its job to clean up the nacrotic tissue, and the flesh had turned bright red and occasionally bled.(there was no skin on the tops of her feet) I tried not to fool myself into having hope for her. The circulation had returned from activity, but surely the feet and bones were useless. What could it hurt to let her out to play. She was going to be put down and if she further shredded her feet on the concrete, it couldn't possibly get any worse. I took Georgia out and she scrambled out of my hands to the floor and proceeded to walk around investigating. Yes, I said WALK. Really...I said WALK!! Oh, it gets better! She CLIMBED up to her old favorite spot on the bedding shelves and dumped 20 comforters in the floor, and she RAN across the floor when I went to help her, and then she SCRAMBLED under my desk and harassed the dogs by teasing them. She was my Georgia. The Comeback Kid, rallied once again, but this time without the aid of steroids for the first time since her injury. I was shocked. Georgia's feet are nearly heeled today. Her toe bones no longer exposed, one foot looks normal except for a middle toe that sticks up permanently. Sort of a sentiment for my decision to euthanize her. I have to say I agree with her. Euthanasia is no longer in my option list. The other foot is healing nicely, though it's still quite raw in places. Her hair is growing back and other than a small 'tick' in her feet from nerve damage, she walks normally. Her back end is weak, but strengthening. Her eyes are bright, her disposition is fairly cooperative and she is the basic loving little brat she has always been. My dream for her is as always, 100% recovery followed by release. I don't know if that is in the cards for Georgia, but her and I will take life one day at a time and hope for that day. She will never be perfect, but she's perfectly Georgia. I wouldn't have her any other way today given her history. Nine months ago, she was being eaten by a hawk after being run over by a car. Today she is a WALKING miracle. She has made pals with my bulldog, Otis. Georgia scratches his rear end on command. A valuable partnership for Otis, his favorite past time getting his butt scratched. Georgia's story may go on for many newsletters to come, but she's so worth the time. Cases like hers is what keeps me working, learning and keeps 'Give Up' low in my vocabulary. I won't give up on Georgia because she didn't give up on Georgia. Smart girl. She stumped me again! Mark your calendar! Our Annual Spring Baby shower is scheduled for April 24th at 1:00 to 4:00. That's a Saturday. There is no admission, but we ask that everyone bring a little something for the babies. I'm good on stuffed animals for the rest of my life, but we are needing meat for the carnivores and many cleaning items. Cash is always good too. We use it to buy the fresh stuff and medicines that pop up. I would also like to contribute to Doctor Cash by paying for the care of the swan. She donated the time, but I hope the community might pitch in for a ' Thank you' for saving their treasured bird. If you feel the urge, even to send a note, her address is Hooves Paws & Claws, 1840 W Country Club Rd, Claremore, Ok 74017. You can earmark contributions "Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Account" and it will credit for future care for the animals once the swan's costs are covered. She also does discount work for the Rogers County Humane Society. That's another option for contribution. We at Wild Heart Ranch could not do any of this without her help and the time she donates to the animals I drag in. I can't express how important it is to support veterinarians like Doctor Cash who donate their time to rescued animals. They can't possibly do it for every group or every animal, but they do what they can and she does so much for our community critters. This rehabber knows how blessed she is to have her support. Thanks Doc! I will wrap this up with an invite to the Rogers County Humane Society Rummage sale April 2nd from 7 to 9 pm and April 3rd from 9am to 4pm. We are planning to have a booth and will bring some critter friends to meet the public. If you have items to donate to our booth, call to bring them out or arrange for pick up. I'm short on time so a delivery would help me tons. It includes a free peek at the animals to make it worth your trouble. Any un purchased items that I don't keep to use for critters or sell at a later date, I donate to needy families in the Foyil area and the rest goes to Good Will. As always, the donation jar will be on hand if you don't see anything you want to purchase or of course you can just stop by to say Howdy! I still need help with the booth so please, call me if you want to volunteer! Please visit our website for a list of supplies for the Baby Shower, details of group tours and photos of the animals. Here's a few Georgia shots, but some other animals in care are listed on our Current Critters page. Thanks so much for your support! Annette King Tucker Wild Heart Ranch State and Federal Wildlife Permits www.wildheartranch.org |
Wild Heart Ranch News Summer of 2004 We have had a busy, but not overwhelming spring season so far. The majority of the orphans have been brought to us thanks to caring people who understand my lack of time to come and get them. It has sure saved my sanity! We have warmed and fed baby raccoons, birds, opossums, squirrels, bunnies, foxes, skunks, groundhogs, owls, and fawns. Oh the fawns! Eleven and counting. They are keeping me quite busy and of course, entertained. I have so many worthy stories to tell. My little raccoon that was hit by a car and seizured for days, who now is a perfect little fat darling, my 4 baby great horned owls who have flown in each morning and evening for weeks asking for a free meal and giving us the most beautiful photo opportunities, my ground hogs who grew from the tiniest, most precious babies into strong contenders, challenging me to dare to touch them before release. My outside cage filled with raccoons, some of them who came in barely alive, eaten by maggots, now the epitome of health. Twenty something fat (and smelly) baby skunks to keep me throwing open doors, gasping for fresh air when they have had a disagreement. So many miracles and triumphs, so little time to put it all down. Tonight one story is heaviest on my heart. I want to share it with you. It is late, and I need something to do while I wait a few hours to check on my little 'Ivan' fawn. Ivan arrived three weeks ago. His little body appeared perfect as my brother and husband arrived with him wrapped in a blanket. Robbie paused as they handed me my newest charge, a beautiful little buck that would be named with an 'I' in my traditional alpha order. He said words that always sink my heart. "Honey, his back legs dont work." and gave me that 'look' that always says to me how much he hates bringing me such a case, knowing what it may one day do to my heart. He so hates to see me cry. Big sissy. Upon initial exam, I decided the sky was still blue. The spine was intact and I found two suspect points of dislocation and he had feeling. No major injury to the spine, just vertebrae torqued out of place. Probably grabbed by the legs and done while Ivan attempted to kick free. Fawns are notorious for such an injury. I always capture by grabbing the body. Never the legs. I was hopeful and relieved. My little guy wasn't perfect, but he had lots of hope. I would use my anti inflammatory drugs and give him some time. After several days, Ivan thrived in every area except rear leg use. He lay in his play pen, watching every move I made, wanting so badly to get up and walk around. It was then I began to support him with a towel sling and let him walk around the clinic. He would get SO excited! Not minding the other animals around him, or even showing a sign of fear. He would just GO! His rear legs dragging useless and his 'mother' jogging along beside him. Anyone that walked in the clinic got to take Ivan for a 'walk'. It was good for him, and it kept his spirits up and his forward body strong. I made the appointment for his x-rays. I knew it was risking answers I did not want to know, and even risking his life if Doctor Cash felt it best for him. She does not consider euthanasia unless there is absolutely no possibility for recovery. I trust her judgment on that completely. I was prepared for whatever she told me. His films showed no fractures or breaks. We were good to go. Ivan had twisted vertebrae which we could push back into place. She showed me how and my mind began to fashion a sling to hold the spine straight to heal. Once home, I told Robbie about his prognosis, elated that I brought our little guy home in my arms alive. I immediately saw Robbie's mind doing exactly what mine had done. That night, we had our first sling. Made out of PVC and made to hang on his playpen, it was a good idea, but Ivan didn't fit in it properly. Robbie hit the shop once again frustrated. I figured it was a lost cause. I tied the sheets to the playpen and suspended him awkwardly as I had been doing. Of course he perked right up, happy to be able to see around him, not noticing that his back end was drooping and he would soon have to lay back down if I had to leave the room. It would just have to do though. I was out of ideas. The next morning, like a beacon in the dawn sun, I looked out the window and saw Ivan's new legs! It was an A frame built like a giant saw horse, suspending a padded sling from adjustable ropes. PERFECT! I knew when I saw it that it would work. And work it did! It worked so well that Ivan often forgot he couldn't walk and would try to follow me as I passed by him. The other fawns were allowed in to 'visit'. I would tell them as they sniffed the contraption and stared wide eyed at Ivan that he was just the same as they were, only couldn't run as fast. Little Ivan would get excited and plead with them with his big brown eyes to come closer. He so wanted to sniff them. He knew they were his kind, but they would soon lose interest in the offensive contraption 'eating' this strange fawn and Ivan would have to settle for Otis the bulldog and Lilly, my albino raccoon for playmates. They weren't afraid of Ivan and Lilly found many hours of entertainment climbing the sling and playing with his face. Ivan didn't mind. He welcomed the company. Ivan's spirits and body functions have always been normal. TOO normal for a crippled fawn. They are so extremely sensitive and I have been amazed each day by his health. Three hours in the sling, twice a day. Ivan even learned to insert his front legs into the sling himself. He loves standing up. Yesterday, began with Ivan being a little less enthusiastic than normal. He drank his bottle and stood in his sling, drooping his head. Then he did something strange. He fell asleep. Ivan never slept in his sling. He didn't want to miss anything. Supper time came and he wasn't hungry. Sometimes Ivan would pass the first attempt, then eat like a pig. Every hour I tried until well past midnight before giving up. I gave him the appropriate medications for his stomach. I knew he would eat breakfast. I went to bed. This morning, nothing. No breakfast. No way. Again he fell asleep in his sling. My heart sank as I realized Ivan was giving up. I put him back to bed. He slept all day. Tonight a vet tech came and inserted an IV into his neck. He went down hill quickly. His body so fragile, he was losing his ground far too fast for me to turn him around without help. He didn't fight or even struggle as we shaved him and inserted the needle. He lay on his side as we covered him with blankets and heat pads to combat the IV fluid dropping his body temp. He sat up once for a few minutes, then gave up and lay down. Ive watched him all evening. Still no appetite. At midnight I checked him. Most of the IV bag was empty, little Ivan lay frail and weak under his blankets. No response to my voice as I soothed him softly and tucked him in. I noticed he was having trouble getting comfortable with the IV tape wrapped around his neck. I thought for several minutes, adjusting everything again. No use. He'd had enough fluid for one night and I could take him in to have the IV reinserted tomorrow, so I cut the tape, removed the needle and let him get comfortable. He did, but not before tipping up his beautiful tired head and looking me dead in the eyes as I leaned over him. It was unmistakable. He his eyes were pleading with me. His gaze was locked. The tears were instant. Ive seen this before. I knew what he wanted, and I told him it was okay. I told him that he didn't have to do this anymore if he didn't want too. I told him that I loved him and that if he wanted to go, everything would be okay. And of course, as if he understood me, he lay his head back down and closed his eyes. He fell asleep. I dont know if my little boy will be here in the morning. I dont even know if his little spirit is still here right now. All I know for certain is if he is here in the morning and he makes it out of this, it will be a true miracle. Fawns are so delicate and when they decide to give up, they go, and they go quickly. They are not fighters. In their world, down means death. Little Ivan and others like him are the reason I do what I do. They are the ones I have to be here for, and the ones that teach me more that all the healthy critters combined. I have to be on my toes to read their signs and at times, their minds. I know I can make the tough decisions when I have too, and I know when to let them choose to go. He told me more than any x-ray or blood test ever could. He told me that he believed he wasn't going to walk again and he didn't want to go through this any more. He was tired now, and I'm afraid my little golden fawn with the big brown eyes has just told me good-bye. My heart is broken, but it's time to be brave. He has been every single day for me. I believe its my turn. Im sorry to end this newsletter on a tear, but I wanted more than anything for it to be a tribute to this brave little boy. He wanted his legs so badly, but they just wouldn't work. If only we had wheelchairs for fawns. Maybe by morning he will be jumping fences and running with the other herds that I know he will find, somewhere in heaven. Some I know personally. It's okay and I'm okay if that is where he decides to go. My pain will be far less than his has been today. Special thanks to the Robinson family, the Arnett family, the veterinary assistance program at Community Care College, Doctor Cash and of course my husband. It takes a heart of gold to spend two days making a sling for a fawn...especially when the fish are biting. Ivan and I love you for it. Photo attached is of Ivan in his 'sling'. Visit the website for many more baby photos. MANY more to come when I can find the time! P.S. Its 2:30 am and Ivan is still with me, sleeping soundly. I've said my prayers and off to bed now, hoping for that miracle. Thanks for letting me share. Annette King-Tucker Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue http://www.wildheartranch.org/ 10491 S 4190 Rd Claremore, Ok 74017 wheartrnch@aol.com I lost Ivan in the light of dawn this morning. It tore my heart out. I didn't mean to love him so much. I couldn't help it. Such a brave little boy, and little boys are meant to RUN! GO IVAN GO! Mommy will see you again someday! |
Oh, I just havent made time for my newsletters in so long!!! Need to do that again. However, it doesnt mean I havent been busy writing. My book, "Touched by the Wild" will be out the beginning of 2007. Feel free to email me if you would like a price or info on how to order. This book Chronicles some of our most touching true animal stories. Sure to turn any reader to mush. My wildlife rehabilitation manual is almost complete. "The Road to Release" will be a handy and complete guide for anyone who rescues wildlife. I am hoping to share what I have learned and help others achieve the success for saving lives that I have been blessed to experience. |
