Wildlife Patients 

Animals First Veterinary Hospital has had a number of unusual patient.

A client brought in an orphaned, baby hedgehog in September.  The hog's eyes were not even opened yet!  We bottle fed her for a few days until our rehabilitator was able to collect her.  She has continued to thrive in his care.  Our wildlife rehabilitator has to keep her awak through the winter because she would not have enough fat reserves on her to hibernate.  She will be released in the Spring 2011.  You can view video of her on our YouTube channel, just click on the youtube button on the bottom of our home page.

The KWWSPCA brought in a cygnet (young swan) that was found floating sideways in the canal in Naas.  The cygnet had hypothermia and was in shock.  There were no visible injuries, so we are unsure what happened to it.  We treated it for shock and placed it on a heating mat to warm it up.  A few hours later, it was doing much better, but it was unable to stand.  Our wildlife rehabilitator made a special enclosure for it.  The cygnet will stay with him until it is able to walk, swim, and fend for itself.  The cygnet was released at the end of November 2010.

We also saw a young, Sica deer that was hit by a car.  Luckily she had no broken legs.  When we admitted her, she was in shock and had a large wound near her tail.  We treated her for shock and stitched up her wound.  The local dog warden was kind enough to collect her and kept her until she was on her feet.  He released her in the hills of Glen of Imaal.

If you find any injured wildlife, please call us 045 480478.  You can also look at www.irishwildlifematters.ie for advice on how to care for injured and abandoned wildlife.