What to do with animals your doodle has injured or half-killed

[Melissa & Porter]

I've been meaning to post this for a while and the "Proud of me, Mom?" thread reminded me to do so.  Porter has asked me that question many times now, and a lot of our dogs have a strong prey drive, so  here goes. So far, Porter has killed a fairly large bunny and a baby squirrel.  I found him with the bunny already dead, but the squirrel was still alive when I caught him and his buddy playing "fetch."  After making him drop it and inspecting it, I decided to let Porter finish it.  It was in bad shape and I didn't want it to suffer, half-dead for hours.  I think I probably did the most humane thing. Well, killing it fast myself would have been more humane, but I couldn't make myself do it.

 

But with our second bunny experience a couple weekends ago, I learned some alternatives to letting your doodle kill the animal or letting it suffer for hours...also what you can do if the animal is not gravely injured.

Here's our second bunny story: I went outside to call Porter in and had something squeaking in his mouth and fluff all over his muzzle.  I made him drop the animal and I brought him inside.  I went back out and it was curled up, but breathing.  I thought it was a mouse at first, but then noticed the long, flat ears and tiny tail.  It was a bunny, so young it's eyes were still closed, about the size of two fingers, one puncture wound on its leg and quite alive.  I hunted down the nest in my yard--not hard to do given the trail of fluff.  It was totally ransacked.  I found a bunny foot :-(.

I put the bunny in a shoebox, warm and dark, where it scrambled around blindly until I put a dishtowel in for cuddling.  It was too alive to give up on and my kids were now aware of it and asking me what do we do???

Of course this was a Saturday, not a weekday, so the animal control office was closed.  I know the woman takes in animals because she helped us with a bat issue a year ago.  The local shelter would not give me her cell number--lol--I don't blame them, but they left a message for me on her vm.  I talked to two pets stores and the local zoo.  The second pet store and the zoo gave me the number of a bird reserve, the Raptor Trust, who then gave me the name of my county's bunny person--a sweet young woman with a BA in ecology and working toward wildlife rehab certification.  By this time, I'd had the bunny for 8 hrs, fed it kitten milk from the local pet store and put neosporin on it's boo boo.  Thankfully it was a very hot day, because bunnies need hear.  When she got it, she said it was warm, belly full, and 3-4 days old and she put it in an incubator with two others who'd been brought to her that day. 

 

So, here's a list if you find yourself in a similar situation:

1) Call your local animal control and ask if they rehab animals.  In my town, the animal control person rehabilitates animals.  However, she is not available on weekends.

2) Call your local vet, pet stores and zoos.  Though they will usually not take animals for fear of introducing a disease into their populations, they
often know the wildlife rescue and preserve organizations in your region
and can give you their phone numbers.

3) Google "wildlife preserve, your county, your state."

4) Leave messages everywhere and try to get the animal out of your hands as soon as possible.  People like you and me usually have no idea how to
best handle these animals, so getting them to experts asap increases
their chance of survival.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Kill me now. I hope I never ever have this experience.

So far I have given the "stop" command 2 times when a bunny crossed Daisy's path, and she stopped and 3 times I have "stopped" her with a chipmunk that has taken up space under our hose box. I am truly amazed that she listens being that she is a dog but I guess she does not have that "prey" instinct that some of your doods have.

She is also a big CHICKEN DOODLE in reality.

[Melissa & Porter]

Yay, Daisy, what a good listener :-)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Chloe would never give it up willingly-thanks for posting the info poor little baby bunny!

[Melissa & Porter]

You're welcome.  I have to admit I was surprised Porter gave up the animals.  I'm sure Porter would love to hunt with Chloe. 

I sometimes wonder if combining a Lab's love of food and a poodle's smarts was supremely unkind to my backyard animals.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I agree with Lisa, I am so hoping I never have to deal with this situation.   I really hope Riley is a Chicken Doodle,   At 11 weeks old he saw his first cat today which ran across his path and he just looked but didn't try to chase.  So far so good, but it's early days yet!

[Melissa & Porter]

Good luck!  Porter play-bows to cats maybe because he stayed a weekend in a house with cats when he was younger.  The cat at my vet's office stares at him until he cries--literally cries. :-)

[Elaine Leitelt]

Thanks for the info...it's hard to think straight when I see an animal in my dogs mouth.  Hopefully I will never have to see it again.

[Camilla and Darwin]

OMD, I hope nothing like this ever happens to me... I couldn't take it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

The Raptor Trust got my attention. My son and I brought an injured bird down there a number of years ago. They have a nice collection of raptors they've been rehabilitating or can't release. Lots of wild buzzards : ) It makes a nice day trip. I think your kids would like it.

As to dying animals, I guess it would be humane to put them quickly out of their misery but it's very hard to do. Luckily I haven't had to do this, the squirrel  died. The woodchuck, perhaps not killed by the dogs, was very dead. But the fledgling robin was alive and well and the vet's office was willing to take it.

[Melissa & Porter]

You're right.  I should take them there.  My college alumni association sponsored a family event there last fall, but we didn't make it. 

Glad your robin was taken in.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

thankfully Cooper isnt too interested in wildlife.... maybe because she has 3 kitty siblings, but I shudder to think what i would do. You did a fantastic job looking after that little bunny!

[Melissa & Porter]

Thanks! 

I wish Porter could have kitty sibs, but my husband is allergic.  Me too, but I get shots.