Spring drama
On a Friday at the end of May, I spotted what looked like a dead hedgehog on our neighbour front lawn. I was going to the shop to buy bits asgillo was coming over that afternoon. I still went closer and was surprised to find that he was breathing. I kept an eye on him from my kitchen window. I have been told off before for picking up wildlife because I think it's in trouble, so I was careful not to rush and do something wrong. The poor thing didn't seem to do much but when it tried to move, it seemed to spin on itself (very very slowly). I called our local vet who told me to call the wildlife hospital St Tiggywinkles. They said that a hedgehog who was out during the day was in distress so it was ok to pick him up.
I put him in a veg box and gave it some water, and added a kitchen towel on top of him so he could hide/burrow. The little guy had a drink but still didn't look so good. Still, Gillo and I wentto the bookshop and when we came back - having pick up my husband along the way on our way back as we saw him walking back from the bus stop, we found the little man out of the box, into my quiche pan. He'd got hungry!
Once R had picked the girl back from Sunshine club, we all had a drink and a snack and set off to take our wounded guest to the hospital. Normally, we would have had dinner first, but the poor thing had been waiting a long time for our driver to come back and we knew he needed to be looked at by professionals.
The vet at the hospital reception took one look at him and said he was unwell - dehydrated. We signed the paper saying we 'gave' the animal to the trust and were told to call in a couple of weeks'time if we wanted some news.
R called but didn't tell me straightaway as he didn't want to upset me. Our little guy, on top of being dehydrated, had a broken front leg on the left and a compound fracture on his rear left leg. They hadn't been able to do anything to heal him and had had to put him to sleep.
The following day, a Saturday, we found a dead bird in front of our front door. Grace was with us and got a bit emotional but we managed to reassure her and R put the poor bird into the trash. He later figured out that the bird had flown into our bedroom window and thus met an early demise.
C'est la vie, as they say... We'd already been talking about going to St Tiggywinkle's visitor centre but now, it seems even more relevant than ever. We did not tell the girl what had happened with the hedgehog so she thinks we'll visit him when we go. I'm sure there will be some of his friends around who will be happy to pretend that they're him for her.
Bye, little hedgehog, it was an honour to have met you. I'm sorry it was in such circumstances. <3
I put him in a veg box and gave it some water, and added a kitchen towel on top of him so he could hide/burrow. The little guy had a drink but still didn't look so good. Still, Gillo and I wentto the bookshop and when we came back - having pick up my husband along the way on our way back as we saw him walking back from the bus stop, we found the little man out of the box, into my quiche pan. He'd got hungry!
Once R had picked the girl back from Sunshine club, we all had a drink and a snack and set off to take our wounded guest to the hospital. Normally, we would have had dinner first, but the poor thing had been waiting a long time for our driver to come back and we knew he needed to be looked at by professionals.
The vet at the hospital reception took one look at him and said he was unwell - dehydrated. We signed the paper saying we 'gave' the animal to the trust and were told to call in a couple of weeks'time if we wanted some news.
R called but didn't tell me straightaway as he didn't want to upset me. Our little guy, on top of being dehydrated, had a broken front leg on the left and a compound fracture on his rear left leg. They hadn't been able to do anything to heal him and had had to put him to sleep.
The following day, a Saturday, we found a dead bird in front of our front door. Grace was with us and got a bit emotional but we managed to reassure her and R put the poor bird into the trash. He later figured out that the bird had flown into our bedroom window and thus met an early demise.
C'est la vie, as they say... We'd already been talking about going to St Tiggywinkle's visitor centre but now, it seems even more relevant than ever. We did not tell the girl what had happened with the hedgehog so she thinks we'll visit him when we go. I'm sure there will be some of his friends around who will be happy to pretend that they're him for her.
Bye, little hedgehog, it was an honour to have met you. I'm sorry it was in such circumstances. <3