Austin Wildlife Rescue

A person I know found a fledgling dove and left him wih me one late afternoon. At that time neither of us knew exactly what kind of bird he was. I put him in a cage with a soft clean rag, put water in a dish and ground up some bread crumbs for him. He had air, and safety, and occasional baby cooing at him. OKay, I fell in love with him! He seemed to be comfortable, moved around as he pleased, and cuddled up in the cloth and seemed to doze a bit. If I put my hand in the cage he cuddled in my hand and tried to balance on my finger. The next morning I called my pet's vet who said to call you. The person at the rescue center said to continue keeping him safe, water, and bread would be fine and come over the next day would be fine.



He was still alive as I turned into your drive but died just as i pulled up to your building. I was then told that he was a dove and that fledglings have special eating method requirements. I have really been feeling terrible about this as I inadvertently believe I let him starve to death! If I had known about his need for special eating/drinking techniques I could have gotten him to you sooner. I love animals of all kinds and though it may sound weird to some people but I really have a broken heart over this little dove due in large part thinking that perhaps he could have had a chance if I had been told about his special needs when I first called. I would have had him to you that night. At least he would have had a much better chance of survival.



Please be more specific on the phone when unknowledgable folks want to help but end up doing more harm than good as I feel this is my situation in this case.



Thanks for listening,

Florence McLeroy