A fawn was hit by a truck just south of Powell River and left lying in the middle of a lane.
Cars and trucks swerved slightly to go around it until a concerned driver hit the brakes, leaped out, picked up the baby and carried it to the side of the road. She first called the conservation office but both officers were out of town that day; the call was passed on to the RCMP.
Then the woman remembered Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society, called, then sat with the fawn by the side of the highway. She was soon joined by an RCMP constable. They both looked relieved when PROWLS president Merrilee Prior arrived and took over.
The fawn’s mother was also in attendance in the bush on the other side of the highway, highly stressed. Once she saw help was truly at hand and there was nothing she could do, she melted into the bush.
The skin on the fawn’s hindquarters was hanging down like a skirt. Even though the skin was folded back, there was little blood.
Merrilee loaded him into a crate and took him to Westview Veterinary Hospital, where Dr. Elsie Parsons performed a long and painstaking surgery. She named the fawn Linden while putting him back together.
Fortunately no internal damage had occurred and he then returned to PROWLS for several days. The first three days he was dopey from medications and required warm compresses on the wounds.
Five days later, another trip to the veterinarian’s was needed for the drains to come out. All looked good.
Linden was finally ready to be flown to Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley to join a small herd the same age. They will be released this fall in that area.
Contributed photo
