I Died Today

46 Replies

I was found by a kind, sweet woman who does wildlife rescue.

I was so sick, I could barely open my eyes.

She took me inside, cradling me in her arms and made me warm and comfortable.

I opened my eyes and looked at her and thanked her for making my last few minutes as comfortable as possible.

But I was too sick to keep fighting.

I had eaten a mouse that was poisoned, and it made me very sick.

I closed my yellow eyes for the last time and went somewhere else.

Please, all I ask is never to use poison to kill the mice.

Poison kills owls, like me.

All I wanted was a mouse for dinner.

I died today…

Poison is a very real problem for our wildlife.  Last year, our center received an owl just like the one above who had eaten a poisoned mouse.  It was nursed for months.  It couldn’t be saved.  It eventually died too.

This past week, we received a raccoon who also was the victim of poison.

If your beloved dog or cat caught a poisoned mouse, vole, or mole, it would die as well.

Please don’t use poison to kill mice and rats.  The fallout is tragic.

(Note:  I read the story above for the first time in a newsletter from another wildlife rehab center in the Sequim area.  I do not know who wrote it or where it originated.  Image is from nwraptorcenter.com)

 

46 thoughts on “I Died Today”

    1. neveradullbling Post author

      Yes, lead is a very real problem too. We’ve recently had an eagle die from lead poisoning as well, not because it was shot, but because it ingested lead in some form. I always say man is his own worst enemy… 😦

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    1. neveradullbling Post author

      Yeah, it’s really horrific. As you’re new to my blog, you may not know that I work at a wildlife rescue and rehab center. Occasionally I’ll throw out an “awareness” post like this. 😀

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      1. Dippy-Dotty Girl

        That is wonderful. I did not actually. It was eye-opening, this post of yours. Plus the owl’s face got me. I love owls. Anyway, that is beside the point. Awareness posts are always good. Blogging is opening my eyes to so many things I was not aware of.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Lady G

    So…this is the second time that you have made me cry today….
    I just can’t…
    That said, you have given me some very valuable information. One time we had a mouse and I heard that they hate the smell of peppermint so I tried that. Only problem was, he was trapped in the house. He managed to get by every trap we set so eventually we did use poison and I hated the results. The poor thing went blind and hobbled around for the longest time before he finally died and my Dad ended up burying him.
    We didn’t know what else to do.
    Also, I only just read about voles the other day, didn’t know they existed. I heard they were tiny rodents that dogs sometime eat…making them sick.
    Again, thanks for this post. Though it was very said I think it made a very important point!
    God bless you my love 🙂
    RIP to that dear being.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. neveradullbling Post author

      I’m very sorry that I made you cry (again, 😦 ), but I know you get the importance of awareness. I’m seeing that people don’t understand the impact of poison, thinking it stops with one, which it doesn’t.

      As for voles and moles who dig fun little tunnels all over your yard… put dog or cat poo in every single one of their tunnel openings… they’ll move on. As they don’t see and only smell, poo from another animal represents danger, so they’ll leave and go to your neighbor’s yard (yes, I’ve had to do this, lol). You can also buy predator urine at an outdoor sports shop… that’ll do the job too. 😀

      Then again, your dog will find it too. As long as it’s a quick kill, that’s nature. But if you see one who is suffering, take them somewhere to be humanely euthanized. It’s kindest.

      Hahahaha, I just realized you probably didn’t need all that info, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s what I do, ❤❤❤

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Lady G

        All of this is very important and I am glad that you shared it. You never know who else might read this and learn something too 🙂
        Keep educating us Paula! We love it!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Chocolaterunsjudy

    Paula, I am so sorry for your loss.

    We have a vole problem. And it’s a real problem. I refuse to let Mr. Judy use something toxic on our yard, but then they tunnel so much that the ground is very soft and uneven and it’s hard for the dogs. Do you have any suggestions, by any chance? We’ve tried those vibrator thingies with mixed results. And of course they just tend to come back because they migrate from other yards.

    Chester once ate rat poison at my parent’s house, but I was there and able to induce vomiting very swiftly.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. neveradullbling Post author

      Put dog and cat poo in the tunnels. And I mean every single tunnel and hole you have, and fill the holes back in. Voles will sense a predator and move on. But they will come back to test your yard again, just keep doing it. I know it sounds crazy, but we had a mole problem 2 or 3 years ago and this is how I solved it. It’s not a magic fix, it takes persistence and time. You can also buy predator urine at an outdoor sporting goods store and put it down the holes with the poop. Your yard will be considered not safe to pass through. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Chocolaterunsjudy

        Cool! I’ll see if I can persuade Mr. Judy that it’s worth a try. Not like we don’t have enough of both (which reminds me cleaning the litterbox — that is, emptying it completely & cleaning it — is on the to-do list today).

        Liked by 2 people

  12. lynne hoareau

    Oh, this is so sad and really has made me upset, but it needed to be posted. I don’t believe in poisons of any kind. Those poor innocent little animals out there, have no idea and all they are wanting to do is survive.
    Several years ago we had an incident with our cat, he came inside, frothing at the mouth, and really not himself, the vet said he had licked poison no doubt and it was touch and go for him that night, he pulled through, only to discover our neighbour had put Blue Death around his house for ants, so he was the culprit ! Never the less, days later his dogs also were touch and go at the vet, due to this particular poison. After that, he swears no more Blue Death, he will rather have the unwanted ants !
    Take care Paula and thank you for all you do for our animals. x

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. Steph McCoy

    Poor baby. This is so heartbreaking. I remember seeing, I want to say barn owl (I could be wrong on the type), at a dog show a few years ago. Whatever the type of owl it was this particular one was used to teach people about them. It was during this show they handler told us some guy was caught with an owl and he was fined because it was a protected species. But it was the cutest little thing.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. neveradullbling Post author

      Most birds are federally protected by the migratory bird act. All raptors are protected. We have about 10 non-releasable raptors at our center that we use for education purposes and are granted permits annually to keep them. And yes, owls are fascinating creatues and are so wonderful (and can be amazingly vicious, lol). Barn owls are definitely super cute, they have such sweet faces. Thanks for reading Steph! I’m just hoping to raise a little awareness. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. Aishwarya

    That was a very powerful read!! And I never expected it to unfold as a story of poisons. We all need to definitely reconsider what we do in life as it affects the works many good higher in magnitude than we imagine it to.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. thehangryrunner

        Absolutely terrible. I don’t get why anyone would use that stuff. Even just the practical aspect of it: poison something and it can potentially succumb in your house. If nothing else means anything, how about that thought? I wish they would ban it.

        Liked by 1 person

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