On March 22, 2012, Diane was alerted by her dog Chance that there was something outside. Chance, a previous patient of Kingsbrook Animal Hospital was great at communicating. Anytime there was a wild animal outside, usually a groundhog that lived nearby, Chance would bark a very special way to alert Diane. Diane remembered hearing some commotion outside just a littler earlier, but didn’t think anything of it until Chance let her know. When she went to investigate, she saw some crows swooping down and attacking something on the other side of her fence in her backyard. Diane went outside right away, and to her astonishment saw two very big yellow eyes staring back at her. There it was…an owl, which had clearly been injured and was being bullied by some crows. Diane grabbed a laundry basket to cover the owl so that the crows couldn’t pick on him anymore, and contacted Animal Control.
Animal Control arrived and very carefully placed the owl in a carrier and transported the owl to Second Chance Wildlife rehabilitation center. At Second Chance, the owl was examined by a veterinarian and then x-rayed to look for any fractured bones. Fortunately, there weren’t any broken bones, but his right wing was definitely hurting and he wasn’t able to fly. Three days after being taken to Second Chance, the owl was then transported to Owl Moon, an organization near Frederick, MD that helps to rehabilitate injured owls and other raptors. The owl was soon after named, “Elfie”. Suzanne Shoemaker, a volunteer at the Owl Moon Organization, identified the owl as a Long Eared owl. Long Eared owls are not common in Maryland and in some cases are even considered endangered. Suzanne figured this guy had been injured while migrating, and so lucky for him that Chance alerted Diane of his need for help.
At Owl Moon, Elfie made slow, but steady progress. After a couple months of rehabilitation, they were able to release him back to the wild. The efforts made by Chance, Diane, Suzanne, and all of the volunteers at Second Chance and Owl Moon really made a difference in Elfie’s life. Thanks to them, we are able to enjoy such a beautiful animal.
