Olive is a young captive bred, female barn owl I collected from a veterinary surgery on April 6th. She had escaped from somewhere and been recaptured by a passer-by, then taken to the nearest veterinary surgery. The vet, who rang to ask if I could take her in, told me she had a skin wound on her left leg, which he had cleaned before phoning me.

    Horrendous was the word that came to mind at my first sight of the leg. A closer
examination didn't reassure me at all. I was convinced the leg would have to be
amputated and as it turned out I was right. It looked as though her leg had been caught on something, or a thin rope had been tied around one leg in order to keep her on a block or perch. Certainly, the traditional soft leather jessies for this purpose had not done the damage. The wound extended from ankle to thigh and the leg could not be saved. She was only a few weeks old and still a baby really. How sad that she now had to lose a leg.

We arranged the operation for the following
morning. There was an increased risk because she was very thin, but it was agreed that it couldn't wait. The operation went smoothly. Olive amazed us all by standing on her remaining foot within minutes of regaining consciousness, and proceeding to make an uneventful recovery.  She is flying well, and able to land on perches competently. She has also amazed us all by proving she is capable of tearing up her food with just one foot. We expected that we would always have to cut her food for her.

   
I gave the story to the local
paper hoping to locate her owner. The article was
accompanied by a photograph of her on my arm. Because the weather was warm and sunny, the shots were taken in the local park. Trying to hold a one legged owl on my fist and a smile on my face in the bright sunshine was difficult, hence my squint.

             next page-->>  And Finally