The following day when Aspen went into the center, she learned the snapping turtle she and Dusty rescued was at a local veterinarian’s office having the arrow surgically removed from its neck. It turned out it was not an ordinary arrow, but a fishing arrow that had three prongs, which popped out when it hit its target, inhibiting it from being pulled back through. Luckily it was just a flesh wound, but it was very tricky working around a snapping turtle that could easily take someone’s finger off . Dusty and Aspen retold their rescue account to the other staff . Kim was testing some birds to see if they were eating on their own. Once they passed the test, they could be moved outside and were one step closer to freedom. It was always nice to see an animal released back into the wild. Sometimes they went hesitantly as if they were scared to go, while others quickly hopped, jumped or flew off never looking back.
Being late summer now, the opossums had grown up, been moved to the back porch and acclimated to the weather conditions so now it was time to go. Kim had been through earlier that day and put stickers on the cages that were ready for release. Nicole was on the back porch putting them all in cat carriers, so they were ready to go. The animal’s sleeping habits determined when it would be released. The animal needed plenty of time to find food and shelter before going to sleep, whether that was at night or in the morning. Opossums, being nocturnal, were released at dusk, giving them all night to explore. All the carriers were loaded in the back of Kim’s truck, ready to go; they just had to wait for dark. Aspen continued feeding birds inside when the front door opened. Nicole greeted the visitors at the window, “Hi, what do you have there?” she asked.
“It’s a bird. I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but it was just lying in the yard,” the woman replied. Nicole opened the shoebox to find a cedar waxwing lying on its side. The bird was alive but could not stand or fly. Aspen got an intake box ready while Nicole briefly checked out the bird. The bird was placed in the new intake area for 30 minutes of downtime. As the woman filled out the intake card, Nicole asked more questions about the area the bird was found.
“Do you have any cats?” Nicole asked.
“No, we live out in the woods. Don’t really see any stray cats either.” Nicole nodded listening; this was her third bird season, so she had seen this before.
“Are there any holly trees? They have these little red berries, and the birds love them.”
“Oh- yes we have tons of those trees around.”
“Cedar waxwings frequently overindulge on the berries and get intoxicated if the berries have fermented. They get tipsy, lose motor skills and often fly into things and knock themselves out. We will know more after the exam. Here is its intake number if you want to check on it later, just give us a call.” Nicole handed a card with SB #524 written on it and the center’s phone number on the back. “Thanks for bringing it in.”
“You’re welcome,” the woman said as she left.
Aspen kept feeding birds until Kim came and got her to help release opossums. They drove a short way to the first release site. Kim always looked for land that was away from major roads, subdivisions and had a nearby water source. The first site was a secluded area along the river that had been donated to the center. After they parked, they each grabbed a carrier and walked a little ways off the dirt road into the woods. Kim instructed Aspen to walk down a bit so they would be scattered. The carriers were set down, and the doors opened. Kim’s opossum walked right out and sniffed around a second before climbing a nearby tree. Aspen’s, however, would not budge. They decided to leave the carrier and pick it up on the return trip so the opossum could take its sweet time. The second release site was a volunteer’s home on five acres of land that backed up to the lake. This time both opossums were pretty quick; they finally had their freedom, and they were ready. Thee last release site was Kim’s house. These opossums were nervous, so Kim and Aspen went inside to have iced tea while they waited for them to brave the wild. “So your internship is almost over. What are your plans?” Kim asked.
“Well, I’ll be moving back to the dorm in a few weeks. But I would still like to volunteer as long as it doesn’t interfere with my classes,” Aspen replied.
“Of course, Aspen. We will always have a place for you at the center.” They continued to discuss the various animals Aspen had seen at the center that summer. Her favorite so far had been the baby raccoons Kim had been caring for all summer. Only staff with their rabies vaccinations could care for them, so she watched from afar. They were cute little troublemakers; crying for their mommas, trying to escape their cages, and reaching out their little paws trying to grab things. Aspen hoped to save enough money to get vaccinated by next summer. Once 15 minutes passed they figured the opossums were gone, so they retrieved the carriers then drove back to the first site and collected that carrier, then went back to the center.
Summer was coming to an end; the interns were headed back to their different colleges. Aspen moved back to her campus apartment and started her second year of college. This semester, her biggest obstacle would be Organic Chemistry. She met a lot of college interns at the center while still in high school, and the one thing they all seemed to have in common was a diffculty with Organic Chemistry.
One day while in class, Aspen missed a call from Dusty. He was letting her know the huge snapping turtle, shot with the arrow, was ready for release if she wanted to watch. She pulled up to the center just as Kim and Dusty were loading the snapper up. “Glad I made it in time,” Aspen said. “I always like this part. You know, seeing them go back to the wild.” Dusty and Kim knew what she meant; that’s why they did what they did. Seeing an injured animal heal and get their freedom back was fantastic. Dusty particularly liked the raptor releases. The way the birds soared off, it was incredible; kind of like when he caught the perfect wave on his surfboard.
They all jumped in the truck and headed to the area of the lake the snapper was rescued. Kim got permission to release it there from the homeowner who initially reported it. Once there, Kim and Dusty carried the large dog crate down to the bank. They had to remove the lid to safely lift the turtle out of the crate. Kim and Dusty were always very careful of where their hands were in regards to the snapper’s mouth. They were quite fond of their fingers after all. The snapper was placed on the ground, about two feet from the tall marshy grasses that grew along the banks. It lumbered slowly towards the water as if it weighed a thousand pounds. As Aspen watched, she felt as if she were watching a dinosaur, its rough and bumpy shell, its thick reptilian tail, its enormous claws digging into the ground. Nothing about this animal moved fast except for those jaws when it wanted to snap at something. It finally pulled itself into the water where it moved effortlessly. It swam off and was hidden by the murky water in no time. “How old do you think he is?” Aspen asked as they walked back to the truck.
Dusty chuckled, “By the size of him, he’s a grandpa.”
Kim chimed in, “He is definitely up there. Snapping turtles can live between thirty and fifty years. Hopefully, he can live for a good while longer, with that arrow out.” On the ride back, Dusty brought Aspen up to speed on what had been going on at the center while she was at school.
“We got a Pekin duck, that someone had on their pond. It looks like a predator got ahold of its beak and ripped the end off . It has already healed, but without the end of its beak, it has to work a little harder at eating. She is very sweet; you’ll have to come in and meet her,” Dusty said.
“Pekin are domestic right, so she was a pet?” Aspen asked. Dusty nodded. “What about squirrels?” Aspen asked, knowing the answer based on the season. Fall always brought an influx of baby squirrels as they breed twice a year.
He replied, “Yeah, ya know that’s typical. Remember that bad storm we had last weekend; we got in eighty baby squirrels between Saturday and Sunday. Morgan sat at the intake window her entire shift just taking in squirrel after squirrel.” Kim just shook her head remembering the influx of new patients that weekend. Usually, they encouraged people to renest when they found a baby squirrel, but because of the amount of rain and cold temperatures that weekend most of the baby squirrels were in bad shape. Kim dropped Dusty and Aspen of at the center and headed to a meeting. “You got time to meet the duck?” Dusty asked.
“Sure, I don’t have class till 3,” Aspen replied as they walked through the front doors. Instead of the room full of birds that was there over the summer, it was now a room full of squirrels. The room was full already, and it was just a few weeks into the semester. “Wow!” Aspen said, “That was fast. Usually, it takes a month or so to fill up on squirrels. You guys did get a lot!”
Morgan, who was chopping apples for the squirrels said, “You aren’t kidding!” Suddenly a very loud quacking Pekin duck was rushing at them. She charged Dusty’s leg quacking up a storm. Morgan handed him some kale, which he broke into manageable pieces and had to gently shove down the duck’s beak with his finger to keep it from falling out. Once the kale was gone, the duck charged again, demanding more.
“Boy, she is demanding isn’t she?” Aspen laughed. Dusty stroked the duck’s feathers, and she bowed her head, enjoying the attention. “Well, I have to get back to campus. I’ll be here Saturday morning, though,” Aspen said as she headed back to school.
