Saying goodbye

So I found out some rough info yesterday that we were hoping would be better.  I have shared with you pictures of the eagle we have had in rehab for a little over a month, the one who was in a territorial dispute.  We could finally tell that the eye was reabsorbing into the ocular cavity so it was basically leaving a one eyed eagle.  I made some phone calls, one of them to the Minnesota Raptor Center at the University of Michigan.  They are one of the go to places to find out new techniques in raptor care, current research information, and just general rehabber questions in general.  I gave the scenario of what we had and was told that release for a one eyed eagle is considered a no go.  Both in terms of ethics as well as the prosperity of the eagle, the are more likely to run into things on the blind side, have depth perception issues (which is still in debate b/c raptors have 2 foci in each eye to help enhance depth perception), and just being an overall weaker eagle.  I know this can be debated, I have seen pictures of eagles in the wild that have one eye, but as a rehab center we ethically can't send an animal out that we think "might have a chance".  We could be condemning them to die a slow painful death at the hands or starvation, another eagle attack, or several other possibilities.  

I had dinner with a few people last night, and 3 of them being part of Wolf Hollow, they asked me if I had heard anything and I informed them what the verdict was.  When it comes to something like this it can also be touchy for staff members here.  I have run into the case of someone coming in and saying.. why did you euthanize so and so, I wasn't here to the other end... you shouldn't have waited for me I don't want to be part of that.  The eagle was healthy enough that we could have waited a few days to let staff say goodbye if they needed.  But they all said, no just do it, don't prolong this anymore.  Which was what a thought had already been to attempt surgery on the eye but I just hadn't heard from the MRC yet.  

If you are questioning well why didn't you try placement with this eagle; there HAS to be an alternative than death?  In some cases there is, in this one not really.  Most places who want placement of a bird, are looking for eagles that are intact, not ones with a gouged out eye and a hole in the beak.  Also, her disposition just didn't seem to fit well with placement.  Every day she was getting more and more agitated with being in captivity and that never makes for a good quality of life if they have to be maintained in a captive situation.  

After the deed was done, took approximately 15 seconds to pass in the humane manner issued by Humane society, and regulated (in our world) by the DEA.  Shona and I wanted to take a closer look at the eye.  I do have pictures up close of the face and what necrotic tissue we peeled away from the face, but they are just for reference for future cases and way to graphic for me to post.  I feel guilty taking pictures of dead animals (especially if I was the death dealer) b/c it feels disrespectful, but for documentation purposes we did take some pictures.  Shona worked on loosening the scab tissue from below the eye and at the beak attachment; we found out through this that the tissue was necrotic nearly 1 1/2 inches in to the Lacrimal/Jugal (zygomatic arch) region, to under the ocular orbit .  We pulled back necrotic tissue that exposed the sinus folds and past the maxillary ridge of the beak!  Had we know that the tissue was damage to this extent we may have given the eagle the "release" much sooner, but it was just impossible to tell.  

She really did take a beating and kept on ticking, had she been in the wild where she wasn't found by a person, she would have died a slow painful death due to infections and starvation.  At least we could offer her comfort and a quick painless death.