Sunday 18 July 2010

Rescue Mission




What's that down there inside the cattle grid?
Looks like a hedgehog has fallen in and is stuck in the mud.
Gardener comes to the rescue.





That's him out.
Let's see if he's dead or alive.





Can't tell clearly,
 but I think I can detect the prickles rising and falling.
Is he breathing?
He is encased in mud and I can't tell his back end from his front end.




An hour later and he hedgehog is still motionless, apart from what appear to be
signs of breathing. We put a saucer of bread crumbs soaked in milk close
to where he lay on the lawn and kept other creatures off. 
No movement.

We added a portion of wet dog food and a saucer of water to the provisions.

To stop other animals eating the food and to stop them investigating the smelly little heap 
on the lawn, we covered him and his various sources of nourishment with
a wooden box, well ventilated.

At midnight we took another look.
Hurrah, he had eaten and drunk the lot, breadcrumbs, dog food and water.

As he played dead again, we left him under the box all night, 
adding another spoonful of dog food and some more water.

Six am today,
no further food had been eaten, the hedgehog lay dead.
Seemingly.

Eight am I lifted the box off him and left him to his fate.



This is what I saw from the window at ten am:
one perky little hedgehog scuttling off towards a flower bed at high speed,
button-and-bright-eyed,
and nose end and tail end clearly visible.


Mission Accomplished.

26 comments:

  1. Hurrah! Mrs Tiggywinkle lives!

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  2. A Great rescue Friko...

    happy days

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  3. hurray for friko the hedgehog's bestest friend ever!!!!! steven

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  4. Oh I loved this post, how gorgeous.

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  5. Ahhhhh - you are the Hedgehog Saviour! Nothing but good, good karma from this.

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  6. And a special mission it was. Super job on your rescue!

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  7. Where would any of us, human or animal, if we couldn't depend on the kindness of strangers. What a delight and happy story.
    I'm afraid I'm easily distracted and noting the printing on the upturned crate I had to run to the kitchen to confirm your box and our tonic water actually have to same brand name.

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  8. I think he had a possum friend who taught him a trick or two. So cute!!!

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  9. Well done Friko and Gardener. I have been checking in all day, waiting to find out about your hedghogscapades, as mentioned over at my place.
    One question does come to mind: How fast was that hedgehog traveling in order to scoot himself over the edge of the cattle grid?

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  10. Friko and the hedgehog. What a story!

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  11. Hurrah for Gardener and hurrah for you! So glad the hedgepig is all right!

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  12. Yay Friko and the hedgehog. You and hedgehogs, me and possums. Are they prickly to the touch? People have them as pets don't they?

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  13. There is nothing more gratifying than the successful rescue of a wild animal, eh?
    Way to go!

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  14. Definitely a feel good ending - wonder if he was prolonging his "recovery" in hopes of more tasty morsels from your kitchen??
    A delight to read!

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  15. Who said there's no 'good' news these days? Three cheers for you and your rescue team!

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  16. I love Happy Endings! Well done Friko lovely post.

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  17. Delightful! A well-paced story with a plot twist at the end!
    When visiting friends in Oxfordshire a few years ago, my two sons (14 and 9) woke up at 4AM, jet-lagged, and went off in search of a candy store. They found instead a hedgehog, which they wrapped up in a sweatshirt and carried home. The man of the house passed by their room around 7 on his way to work, saw them playing with a hedgehog and remarked mildly that it wasn't the best choice for a playmate as it was probably full of fleas.
    They were quite amazed to be told that it was a wild thing - they thought it must be somebody's lost pet.

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  18. Lovely - a tale of rescue with a happy ending thanks to you and the gardener. Has he redeemed himself?

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  19. Such patience and what a reward. Glad the little animal is OK now.

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  20. so wundervoll geschrieben, dass man bis zuletzt mitzittert! Schöne Geschichte mit glücklicherweise einem "Happy End"! Und ihr seit echte Tierfreunde..!
    Good night, dear Friko!
    Renée

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  21. So you see, Gardener has got a heart of gold after all. Very very very glad he had a reprieve. Come to think of it I'm sure that the hedgehog is as well. Love Molly x

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  22. Oh beautiful you for looking after this little guy. Thank you!

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  23. I dub thee Lady Friko, of the shining armor, defender of small, mud-encrusted hedgehogs! Kudos too to your trusty henchman, the gardener!

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  24. What a soft bunch we bloggers are.
    All those oohs and aahs and jolly well dones over the rescue of one tiny hedgehog.

    No, hedgehogs are not pets, they are wild animals; you don't want to pick one up because their prickles are long and sharp and they hurt. Hedgehogs also have a lot of fleas.

    They are good for the garden because they nose out and eat practically their own weight in slugs.

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  25. They gather fleas and eat slugs??? Seems like you could market these!

    I love this post. and I totally love the very first comment

    ;-)

    Happy endings are my favorite.

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