Animal Rescue Week

We seem to have had a bit of an animal rescue thing going on this week. On Thursday we found this little bird on the driveway when we were heading off for school. At first I thought it was dead, but closer inspection showed it was still alive, though certainly not in tip-top condition. I wondered if it might have flown into our glass French doors and dazed itself. It must have been there a while as it was quite a windy day and the only movement it was making was the occasional shiver. I honesty thought the poor thing was probably dying, but I thought that I could at least make its last hours comfortable. I didn't want it dying from cold, or worse, being eaten by a cat. I fetched a shoe box and lined it with some soft fleece fabric and quickly and gently lifted the bird and placed it inside. I then put the box where cats couldn't get it and placed a shallow dish of water in there for the bird to drink if it rallied. Emma and I needed to go out so I checked the bird was safe and couldn't be disturbed, fully expecting to find a dead bird in the box when we got back. We were out for a few hours and I was thrilled to find the box empty when we got back.  I felt like I had done my good deed for the day.

Animal rescue number two happened this afternoon when Tom and I found a toad in the road outside our house. Now whilst I was quite happy to pick up the bird, there was no way on God's green Earth I was going to touch a toad! We merely chased the toad off the road and into the garden, where I hope it is now consuming lots of slugs! Being ushered off the road by the Podlings was probably a bit scary for the toad, but it was infinitely better than being squashed by a car!

Toad in the Road. Not to be confused under any circumstances with Toad in the Hole!

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