Bald eagle gives the heroic vet who saved her a goodbye kiss before free flying

news7g03/28/2023

10 3 minutes read

Bald eagle gives the heroic vet who saved her a goodbye kiss before free flying

Dr. Cliff Redford, DVM, or as Dr. Cliff is better known, is a patient and family favorite in Ontario, Canada. He owns Wellington Veterinary Hospital in Markham, but his work with animals doesn’t stop there. Advocacy and animal rescue missions have taken him to India, Egypt, Jamaica and Ukraine.

Closer to home, Dr. Cliff also provides medical care for wildlife in Ontario and a Bald Eagle; he is a hero. And that’s special because, being the apex predator, eagles don’t like humans. That means every time Dr. Cliff has to take care of her broken wing; he had to watch his fingers because this noble bird kept a little wild spirit even when down and lost.

Although he remained during his treatment, Wolf was able to see Dr. Cliff for a while before she took to the skies once more. And like any good caretaker, Dr. Cliff smiled as he waved goodbye.

Bald eagle shot down by accident

Wolf, Bald Eagle, come in Wellington Veterinary Hospital with Cathy’s Shades of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary after the hunter took her to rehab in Ontario.

Dr Cliff said: ‘Some duck hunters accidentally hit it when it was chasing the ducks they were aiming for. explain. “The eagle hit the ground and broke the arm bone.”

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It was the hunters who shot her who brought her in for help. And without their concern, Wolf would surely have been doomed. The X-ray showed not only the broken bone, but also the separation of the flying muscles. She needed surgery, and Dr. Cliff was confident he could fix the fracture with staples. The surgery was a success, but pulling the powerful levator muscles into a straight line was difficult, especially when anesthesia was problematic.

“The tube is falling out. You can just insert that anesthetic tube a little bit in birds, which is very different from cats and dogs, where you can get it down deep into the windpipe.” speak Dr. Cliff. “The big problem was this thing kept wanting to wake up, and it really woke up really quickly while we were plucking.”

But with Cathy’s help, everyone made it through without being bitten by the grumpy bird on the table.

Six Weeks Recovering an Apex Predator

While anyone would get a little irritated when his wings were broken, Wolf was “not a docile patient at all,” biting anyone who dared to come near. But as Dr. Cliff said, “That’s a good sign.”

Three weeks into her recovery, Dr. Cliff removed the pins from Wolf’s wings and she continued to get stronger.

After only a few weeks of recuperation and strengthening of the wings, it was time for test flights.

The tests proved that Wolf’s wings were healed and she was ready to return to the sky with Dr. Cliff. share in video Dodo, “It was a cold winter day, and we took her out to the frozen Niagara River. Right before releasing her, I decided to check on her one last time.”

And when Dr. Cliff looked at her one last time, Wild Wolf took a bite of the doctor’s hand as a special way to say goodbye. Dr. Cliff laughed, and Cathy joked that Wolf remembered who Dr. Cliff was! But that bite is a good sign that the Wolf has kept his wild spirit and is ready to fly free again.

“With a few flaps of her wings, she was up high in the blue sky, soaring around, and I almost cried. It was a pretty magical moment. I will never forget her.”