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cosmolinguist) wrote2024-08-29 11:34 pm
Our good deed for the day I guess!
I had a pretty stressful day, but at least I got to help rescue a baby hedgehog.
It was one of those times all three of us were able to join Gary for one of his walks. Which was lucky because we all soon had a job to do. V spotted it, I had Gary's leash so I kept him away and we went along like it was a normal walk (he either didn't notice or wasn't interested in the little ball of spikes), D looked up the number of the local hedgehog rescue and gave them -- her -- a call.
Gary happily completed his little walk and by the time we got in the house V had already fished a box out of the recycling, lined it with newspaper, and was getting some gardening gloves and one of what we call the "dog towels," suitable for anything messy but named after the dog from his days of coming home muddy or wet from his walks. D had stayed to guard the hedgehog.
Gary warily watched the two of us head back out (this is not normal post-walk behavior for his humans!) but before long we were back with the little spiky friend safely in the box with the towel. We closed the lid (with holes cut in it, of course) and taped it at the suggestion of the hedgehog lady ("they're escape artists!"), but it never moved a muscle the whole time I held it on the short car ride.
The Hedgehog Hospital is run by exactly the sort of old white lady you'd imagine would run a hedgehog rescue from her house. She told us she'd been doing this for 43 years and that she has 200 hedgehogs. She met us at her front door and told us the little friend was five weeks old. She sniffed it and said "smells all right!" and seemed absolutely confident that it would be fine with some warmth and food. Sounds like it just lost its family rather than being really sick or something, so that's good.
Good on you!
I love that the hedgehog rescuer can judge health by smell!
Re: Good on you!
I think it's more about ruling out some bad things, but yeah it was cute to see her just have a little sniff in passing as she was talking to us.
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She is, I was thinking about her off and on ever since. :)
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Me too, such a relief!
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I found a baby hedgehog once when I was about 11 and at a campsite in Scotland. They smell disgusting! Though I think it had maybe weed on my hands when I picked it up.