It was a sad day at the clinic today. Howard, our great horned owl that we raised, passed away. The poor little guy had a seizure that he just couldn't recover from. We are devastated! The staff and the clients all fell in love with him. I remember the day I checked him in. He was a little ball of grey fluff.
Howard was never right. He couldn't fly, wouldn't learn how to hunt, and he had seizures. When you find a baby animal on the ground and you think that they fell from their nest, more than likely Mom kicked them out because she knew that something was wrong with it. That is probably the case here.
We gave Howard almost two years of love, and I spent as much time with him as I do my own pets. I'll miss you Howard!
There are more stories about Howard here if you want to read them. Just look for the label, Howard. There is also a little video at the bottom of this page.
What do you do when you have a slow day at work?
We play with the animals! We probably have over 60 snakes at the clinic and today the snakes got the quality time. Howard was not happy. We had this snake on the floor and Howard stood about 5 feet away just watching. We don't know if he liked the snake or he was jealous that he wasn't getting all the attention for a change. If he were a normal owl he would have wanted to eat this sweet little snake. This snake was found in an abandoned house and brought to us by Animal Control. It will have a new home this week with one of our vet techs who will be taking it home for her son.
This particular snake, a Red Tail Boa is actually a nice snake, as is a Ball Python. So if you are planning to give a snake as a Christmas gift this year, those would be my recommendations. I would like one myself, but my husband is not fond of the idea.
It's not often that we have even a slow minute but Doc is leaving town and that means quieter times for us, and extra days off work for me. Loving this!!!
Some of you may already know the story of Howard. He's the Great Horned Owl that we are rehabbing at the animal clinic where I work. If not, you can read about him here. To make a long story short, he fell out of a tree, ended up at our clinic, we are raising him, and the plan is to release him soon. We normally don't name wildlife but we felt that Howard deserved a name. Anyway, he is not interested in flying or hunting at the present time so I was quite interested in reading about Charlie (below).
Recently Brian and I took a trip to Starved Rock where we did some hiking. They had an owl there that was stuffed and I found it interesting that this owl was born with a disability that didn't allow her to fly. She lived at the park for several years until she died of natural causes. She was also a surrogate mother to many owlets at the park.
I'm just so fascinated with wildlife! If you want to see Howard in action, there is a little video of him at the very bottom of my blog. He's so cute!
I sure wish blogging was around when my kids were little. Every time I go into my blog reader I see all kinds of cute things that would be so fun for kids parties as well as simple day to day activities.
But I still love it! I find that I never buy magazines anymore. Don't need to. I can get all the craft projects, decorating ideas, recipes, and party ideas from visiting blogs. Then there's the photography, pet stories/photos, traveling, reviews, and just fun stuff.
I especially enjoy visiting blogs around the holidays. Look at how many cute July 4th projects, decorating, and recipes are out there! Next will be all the summer vacation shots, picnics, and yummy food. I can't wait to see all the Halloween blog posts yet to come!
I'm sure digital photography has a lot to do with it. I don't think blogging would be as much fun without all the photos. I'm so happy to have been born in this day and age. Digital photography and blogging are a fun thing to be a part of. I feel like I have the best magazine at my fingertips, literally!
Photo Above: Baby Howard More Howard
Howard snuck back up front this week while they were cleaning his "man cave" and I got him on a little video. He's so cute! We love it when he visits us but we have a problem with him pooping on the carpet so we try to discourage it.
Scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog to see his latest video.
PS...If anyone knows how to house train an owl, I'm taking advice!
The images in the graphic are from my "Owls Rule" clipart/graphic sets and can be found in my ETSY Shop.
It was a much lighter week at the clinic today. Since Doc is out of town we have a sub vet and he keeps a much lighter schedule. The week ended with Howard hamming it up. For those who don't know, Howard is the owl that we are rehabbing. As soon as he can be released back to nature, we will release him. But for now, he still needs a little help. While they clean his cage he sometimes wanders out by us in the reception area. He really likes us! While he was hanging with the ladies I decided to snap a few pictures. Like I don't have enough!
Howard and Mona. He likes her, she is not fond of him.
In the photo above it looks as if I interrupted his time with his cat friend.
Meet Howard! He's an owl that we have raised at the clinic where I work. We've all become quite fond of Howard. He's a great horned owl who fell from his nest. When we raise owls we release them as soon as we are sure they are going to be able to survive on their own. This is Howard. We all fell in love with Howard. How sad it will be when we release him. He'll be missed!
As for me, I'm just a wife and mother who is living day by day and enjoying every minute of it! I created this blog for the purpose of exposing you all to my digital scrapbooking, crafts, and day to day life, but I also want to express my creativity in many other ways so I hope you will follow along and see what I can come up with next!
