Wednesday, August 01, 2007

A donut for Robin

Actually it's for this Bald Eagle with a bum leg. But to set things right, Robin from Dharma Bums asked me to clarify what a donut was from an earlier story. I could be smart and send her to her local Dunkin' Donuts, but no. She's been a real supporter of Bird TLC for a little while now.

So I told her I would get a picture and post an update. Well my real job kept getting in the way and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get a picture. Today is my off day from my paying job and I usually go into the clinic. As I walked into the exam room guess what I saw. Just in time to run out to my truck and get my camera.

As you can see Robin, the donut is a little on the oblong side. With this bird having a leg injury, it lays down a lot. That puts weight on it's keel that it's not meant to support for any long periods of time. This donut surrounds the keel and doesn't allow any weight on it

This bird still has circulation in its foot on the bad leg, which is good. Amputation is not an option. He's eating and the wound is healing slowly. The main thing is to keep the wound clean. So, they change the bandages everyday going through a routine that you can see here. It takes at least three experienced eagle handlers. One to hold the good leg, one to hold the head and one to apply the donut and wrap. Everyone helps move him around so his wings aren't tangled up in the wrap.

So today was the Cindy, Cindy and Debbie dance while Dave stood back and took pictures. Great job girls!

I took a lot of pictures of Ghost the Snowy Owl I present with. Click here to check them out.

3 comments:

robin andrea said...

Thank you for showing me what the donut looks like on the eagle. It is really incredible to see. I am amazed to see the effort it takes to help this bird heal. That last pic is really very beautiful.

Dave Dorsey said...

Robin - No problem. Sometimes I ramble on thinking everyone knows what I'm talking about.

Susan Gets Native said...

When I read "donut", I thought maybe it was one of those hemorrhoid things.
: )