PetKnows

I don’t know what it is about my house, but we seem to have pretty frequent run-ins with wild animals considering we are in the middle of the city. Last week I was moving something in the area between my house and the neighbor’s house when I noticed a very small baby bird on top of an lawn chair. This poor guy was so young, he didn’t have any feathers at all on him. I am guessing that his nest was in the gutter above and he fell two stories down. It was getting colder as the sun was going down, so I made him a little nest out of toilet paper to keep him warm and called animal control. Even if the little guy didn’t have a great chance at survival since he fell out of his nest at such a young age, I couldn’t bare to just let him freeze and starve out there all night…I had to do something to help him out! After an hour went by without seeing a momma bird come along, I brought the baby bird and his make-shift nest inside where it was warmer. Every time my roommates and I walked by he opened his mouth hoping for food, which I think was a good sign that he is strong. The guy that showed up from DC Animal Control couldn’t have been nicer and promised us that they would do everything they could to help him survive.

Last year we had 3 baby birds hatch in a nest built in a climbing rose bush that arches over some steps in my yard. That was clearly a more secure spot for baby birds, and provided us with an amazing chance to watch them grow. But I have to say, I had no idea that such tiny animals could make so much noise!

The funniest animal encounter was the raccoon that decided to take a nap between the bars and glass of a window above my front door on a cold winter night. I was about to head out when Mosby’s barking caused me to stop and look around for something wrong. Finally I noticed that something looked a bit odd in the window above by door. I won’t lie, I was terrified to open the door, for fear he would jump on me or simply get scared by the door and attack or something. Animal Control came and tried pulled him down, but he fought like crazy to stay, holding onto the bars with both of his little hands…those guys are strong! Once they pull him down and tried to put him in a cage, he escaped and made a run for it toward the park up the street, which, I learned later, is where animal control would have released him anyway.

A few tips I have learned from these encounters…wild animals are unpredictable and when in doubt, it is better to not touch them or go near them. Animal control cannot disturb an animal in his nest or home (for example, if the birds built a nest on my roof laid eggs in it, Animal Control would not be able to move it until the baby birds flew the coop), but if the animal is coming into your home and posing a potential danger for himself or you, they are happy to come help you out. And lastly, if a wild animal does need medical attention like my little baby bird did, Animal Control is much better equip to care for them and they really do everything that they can to care for the animals in their care. Don’t be afraid to call, even for small animals that seem harmless but in need!