Even though bald eagles are no longer on the endangered species list, their lives are still precious. No matter what, we should always do what we can to help an animal that’s in trouble. Of course, whether it is a wild or domesticated animal, we must never forget to be safe about it. Much like the family of the unlikely hero you are about to meet. A lovely 3-year-old golden retriever was on a walk one day when she came upon a heartbreaking scene — a beautiful bald eagle in distress.
KENAI
We want you to meet Kenai. We all know that golden retrievers are some of the most gentle and intelligent of all the dog breeds, and Kenai is no different.
Kenai and his owner were walking in the woods when it happened. You see, suddenly Kenai was very persistent with his owner and barking up a storm to get their attention. Soon, the group came upon an eagle in distress.
They couldn’t just rush right in, however. First, it was getting dark outside. Kerrie and Pam didn’t want to scare the eagle or for anyone to get injured. So, having no choice, the group left the eagle there for the night with plans to return first thing the next day.
THE NEXT DAY
Early the next day, Kenai’s owner and her friend went back into the woods. Kerrie and Pam found where the eagle was the day before.
The friends knew that the eagle could not have gone far. So, they followed it’s footsteps through the snow. It didn’t take long for them to find the injured bird just a little further up the shoreline.
As soon as they saw the Eagle, Kerrie and Pam knew that they shouldn’t try to rescue it on their own. So, they made a call to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
THE RESCUE
The state responded by sending out two ladies who are trained to deal with large birds.
It didn’t take them long to wrangle the injured eagle — sadly, the bird wasn’t doing very well at all.
Rescuers got to the eagle just in time, too. Once they got a closer look at the bird, the poor guy wouldn’t have lasted much longer. His feathers were frozen, his shoulder was injured, and he showed signs of lead poisoning.
The team rushed the bird to a place called Wildwoods, which is a wildlife rehabilitation organization located in Duluth.
TRAPS NOT POISON
Luckily, Kenai found the beautiful bird just in time. The doctors gave the eagle pain medication and fluids while his feathers thawed out.
After receiving treatment, rescuers transported the bird one more time. This time they took him to The Raptor Center in St. Paul so he could recover there.
Now, we can’t know anything for sure in this case, of course. However, the rescuers did say that this eagle showed signs of lead poisoning. Please use traps instead of poison to get rid of critters like mice and rats. You see, when birds of prey get a hold of one of those, it poisons them too.
It’s likely that the eagle in this story could have died because someone poisoned the mouse he had for dinner. Share this with your friends to spread the word. Thanks to Kenai and his owner for doing the right thing.
Featured Image Screenshots from Daily Mop via YouTube Video
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