Apes and Eagles. "What a creative title!" Yeah, I know.

My hedgehog was supposed to have babies this week. I don't think it's going to happen, and I'm pretty bummed.

But. Otto is well on his way to becoming a therapy dog! All we need to work on is walking on the leash (he thinks he can pull me.. I think he has short man/dog syndrome), so I'm pretty excited. He was honestly one of the most well-behaved dogs at the pet therapy workshop (for a Yorkie, that's pretty impressive). I'm so proud of him. He didn't even poop in front of everyone (which he likes to do when we go to new places.. especially pet stores.. the other day, he took a gigantic poo at Alex's work, and some lady was gushing, yes, gushing about the amount of poop he produced.. it was awkward and embarrassing and horrible.. just horrible).

And today was awesome. So I guess the good things outweigh the lack of hedgie babies.

Today, I assisted with a physical exam on a Siamang, which is a lesser ape (a type of Gibbon, actually). And Siamangs are awesome. When I go to the zoo as a visitor, they are one of my favorite animals to see. They're so acrobatic and fun to watch!

I love them! I could seriously watch them flipping around like that for hours. I wish I was one of them... I was really hoping they would be super tame, but sadly, they were not (not the male that was examined, anyway). So the zookeeper got the male into a crate, and then we had to sedate him. He didn't exactly go down easy either.. he was pretty chill after he had a sedative shot, but when we tried to gas him, he woke up a little and fought the keeper that was trying to hold him (he was really strong, too.. I'm glad I wasn't the one holding him).  We did basically every test that could possibly be needed while he was out, so I was frantically running around, processing his x-rays, handing things off to the vet, helping hold his limp head up, cleaning up nervous poop squirts, drawing up vaccinations, and doing whatever else the vet needed me to do. It was pretty hectic.

After all that work, we basically just confirmed that he was very healthy (except for his teeth.. they were kinda messed up, but it wasn't anything serious).

I was given one of his hand prints for helping. When the animals are out, they make prints like this to give to the keepers and to sell to people. Since I'm just an intern, I got one of the kinda messed up ones, but I'm totally okay with that (I honestly didn't expect to get one at all).

After our Siamang friend had recovered from anesthesia, we began preparing for surgery. On a bald eagle. I was so excited.

The eagle had a broken wing (likely the result of getting hit by a car), and we were going to attempt to pin the bones back into place so they could heal properly. I didn't actually get to catch this bird, but I'm kinda glad. It was freaking huge. And strong. And it had a giant beak.. that was kinda dripping blood because it had just ripped the head off of a rat before we went in to get it. So I just opened doors and put a towel over its head.

It looks so elegant even when it's all doped up. That can't be said for many species (humans included).

Unfortunately, when we cut the wing open to make sure that necrosis hadn't set in, we discovered that the bird's entire humerus was completely shattered, which basically meant that there was no way to pin it. The bird would never be able to fly again, and it would be in a lot of pain (physically, but probably mentally, too) for the rest of its life. Therefore, the vet decided that euthanasia would be the most humane option. So yeah... we killed this country's symbol animal. I've never felt so un-American. I hate that a broken bone can completely destroy an animal's life. It's so sad.

On a happier note, the zoo's mountain lion is getting a new friend! It's going to be a while because the mountain lion coming in is still a cub (and was just rescued), so it will be hanging out with people for a bit before being introduced to the other guy, who seemed kinda lonely last time I visited him. I'm really happy he's getting a companion.