Name: Victoria Turbyfill
Class/Year: Class of 2017, Junior
Hometown: Danville, Kentucky
Location: Ohio Wildlife Center Hospital
Internship: Animal Care
My last shift at OWC hospital was the first nice day we have had in a while. It felt like it had been raining for weeks on end. Weather like that affect what animals can be released. We don't want to release an animal in bad weather when they don't have or know their territory and can't escape from the rain. I remember thinking to myself "I hope I can release an animal today because its so beautiful." When I arrived Kristi asked me to call four presenters to ask if they wanted to release the animals they had brought in themselves back where they were found. When no one answered I send emails to all of them. A lady who had brought a cardinal in called back to let us know she was out of town. Kristi asked if I would like to do the honors knowing that I wanted to release something that day. The cardinal was in the flight room where maturing juvenile birds stay to learn to fly when they come in as fledglings. Of course non of the interns (all three of us working together) could not catch him, even with two nets. We asked Kristi for help and like predicted she came out with the bird in about 20 seconds. We put him in a shoe box and drove about 10 minutes to a dog park where the bird was found. We looked for a good clear spot with a lot of bushed and opened the box for him. He immediately went to the trees and checked out his surroundings. After a moment he took off into the open field behind the trees. It is the most rewarding feeling to watch an animal become healthy enough to go back to the wild and set them free. This day was one of the good days that makes working at a wild animal hospital one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. (I have an awesome video of him flying away but my computer refused to cooperate).
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