Make the phone stop ringing

Tradition has it that when a new officer begins the stand-by rotation, they have to do so for 2 weeks. After that you have the choice if you want it again (as long as someone is willing to cover your rotation, and there usually is). My two weeks began on Friday the 4th. The first week went pretty smoothly with me saying “it’s not too bad,” and knocking on wood each time. I had only been called out once per night for a sick or injured animal and two nights I didn’t have to go out at all. Then Saturday the 12th I only had 4 calls, but spread out so I would return home settle down and get called back out. That night I only got an hour of sleep. My alarm clock on my cell phone went off to wake me up for work that day while I was still out on a call.

Fortunately that Sunday, I got a break from my normal routine which helped me survive the day…caffeine free! Agencies including the Humane Society with their humane officers and volunteer rescue team, a local rescue group, and some officers from our department joined forces for a fire rescue. We practiced with the FEMA Incident Command System and had a whole entire plot in place. We had teams put together to respond to requests to evacuate owner’s “stuffies” aka their animals. I suited up into my full fire gear, glad my first time was for pretend, I was having all kinds of issues getting it to fit right. Finally we waited till we had an assignment. Our first call was to rescue 22 horses, some goats and sheep, and some cats and dogs. I drove with a group of horse trailers to our destination and impounded a koala bear and a vicious dog (that my partner and I had to muzzle!) We brought them back to the base camp and dropped them off at the intake area, then waited again. We got called out to another call, but we had to turn back as soon as we got there as the “fire was too close.” Then we met back up to review how the day went. It was a chaotic day, but so neat to see what I’ve learned in a classroom come to life. And dressing up like a fireman was kinda fun too!














So after that long day, I was off of work at 4pm and in bed shortly after 5pm. I was completely out until I was called out at 9:30pm. Fortunately that was the only call I had to go out on. I got a reprieve for a couple nights only having to respond to one call each night, but last night/this morning was busy again. My first call started at about 9:30pm again, only to respond for a skunk that was no longer there. She said it was hanging out in the bushes for over an hour and it wasn’t moving. When I was looking for it I found an avocado that was half eaten, I think I figured out why it was staying there! I guess it decided to leave before I arrived, which was fine by me. Then I was called out at about 2am by the campus police at a college. There was a dog tied up outside a vehicle and they wanted us to respond. By the time I got there the responding officer’s shift had ended so no one was there. I saw the dog and the car. I shined my flashlight into the car and saw lots of bags and stuff. I decided to try knocking just in case before I impounded the dog. I tapped lightly on the window and I heard a high pitched scream and someone popped up on the other side of the car. I think I may have jumped too; I was just as surprised by the response. I quickly announced who I was as she was obviously startled. Anyway, she ended up bringing the dog in the car with her. I made it back home, just to be called out again at 5am for a dog that bit someone and was still running loose. By the time I got there filled out the reports and got the dogs impounded, I didn’t get home until shortly after 8am. No sleeping yet…had people coming over to clean the carpets. Hopefully I can catch up on some sleep tonight…two more nights!!

Playing on the Wild Side...

It’s tough to figure out where to start when it’s been so long since I’ve written. I guess I’ll start with my poor kitty cat that was trapped in a car engine. The person drove the car not knowing the cat was in the engine, unfortunately when the car was driven the cat got tangled in the axle causing m major injury. When I got there he was barely alive and I had to euthanize him to prevent any further suffering. I had to jack the car up so I could even get to where the cat was under the car. Fortunately he went down quickly so his pain wasn’t prolonged. My morbid side took over and I did take some photos, but they are pretty gruesome so I don’t want to post them.

That same week I was called out for ducklings stuck in a storm drain and the mom and dad were waiting on the street for them. There was a fairly large gap between the curb and the drain so I was able to climb into the drain. I warned the lady watching that she may have to call 911 if I got stuck! Fortunately I did not get stuck, but unfortunately only one out of the six ducklings was still alive. I was able to put the live duckling up on the street and the momma duck was content. She and baby began to walk down the street and daddy flew away. Lastly, I was very happy that I was able to get out of the drain without incident! A few weeks later we received a call that a cat was stuck in a storm drain and there I was…back in another drain setting a trap. Fortunately both were pretty clean, but it was definitely not a place I ever thought I would be.

Wild animals seem to get stuck many places, not just in cars and drains. A juvenile deer found out the hard way it no longer could fit through the wrought iron bars of the fence and wound up stuck half way through. Unfortunately it was a short stucco wall topped by the wrought iron so in the deer’s struggle to get out in rubbed its stomach and legs raw. This only caused superficial wounds, but left behind a lot of blood. Not knowing enough about deer the other officer and I loaded the deer in my truck until we could figure out what to do with it. Unfortunately with it being a weekend it made it difficult to get a hold of anyone that could help. After leaving several messages the deer rode around with me back to the shelter and around the city while I completed some other priority calls. So here’s a message to everyone: never cut off an Animal Control truck; you never know what kind of injured animal they could have on board and you don’t want them to have to slam on their brakes :) After several phone calls I finally had a vet call me back and we discussed the deer’s injuries. It was a debate to release the injured deer back into the wild not knowing it’s chance or lack of chance of survival or to euthanize to prevent the inevitable and possible suffering. The vet put me at ease that it would have a substantial chance at a good life so another officer and I got to release it. Now the difficult part, we wanted to release the deer as close to where we found it as possible, but all the access points to the canyon were fenced with at least 6’ fencing. We finally found a low wall in someone’s backyard, but that meant we had to get the deer into the backyard rather than just let it go. So you can see the picture of us trying to “walk” the deer. I guess I should mention that walking this wild deer would be like walking a 60-70 lb dog that has never been leash trained, but more agile, has stronger legs to try and kick you with, and covered in deer ticks. It fought us on the leash and at one point jumped up and landed on its side. That was hard to watch knowing the deer was already injured and stressed.

Then yesterday I got a call for a sick raccoon stuck in a tree. I pulled up and the raccoon was hanging out in the tree. Perfect photo opp! I was not able to catch the raccoon, but fortunately it didn't look sick. Raccoons are pretty good about getting out of those situations on their own, so hopefully he’s down from the tree by now!

And more snakes! I got a double dose today, I’ve never seen rattlesnakes come in multiples, but someone caught two of them today. The gentleman said that he was about to kill the first one when the second one appeared. He and a neighbor confined the snakes in trash cans and called us. They looked like two red diamondbacks. They were good sized rattlesnakes and the first one got transferred into my bucket easily. The second one was the feistiest “adult” rattlesnake I have ever had. When I started to release it from my tongs it jerked quickly out of them and I covered the bucket quickly with the lid. Then when I released them I started with the nicer one and it just stayed still on the ground and stared at me flicking its tongue (pictured). Usually they look for some cover or vegetation to hide in but he was still. Just a little creepy, especially when I still had the mean one to release. I grabbed the 2nd one with my tongs and the rattle was going crazy. I set the snake on the ground and it held the top ¼ or 1/3 of its body up of the ground and faced me as it traveled away from me into a bush. I tried to get a picture of this as I have never seen that before, but it was already hidden in the bush before I could snap a good picture. And during all this the 1st one was continuing to stare at me. Needless to say I let them be…

4 snakes, 3 dogs, and 1 bird

I guess the warmer weather is bringing some more fun! I caught 4 snakes today: 2 gopher snakes, a southern pacific rattler, and a red diamondback rattler! The first gopher snake was at the stadium, fortunately they still wanted the snake around so I just moved it about 50 feet to the canyon. My 2nd gopher snake was in someones backyard. She thought it was a rattlesnake, but by the time I had arrived, she had lost sight of it. I inspected her backyard and the only place I could imagine it could be hiding was in an old small wooden dresser. She didn't think it could have made it in there, but i tried opening the bottom drawer. Surprise! There it was, a big gopher snake in the middle of eating. The lady laughed at me because I baby talked to the snake and apologized for interrupting it's lunch. Anyway, the wooden dresser was swollen from the recent rain and items from the second drawer were falling down into the bottom drawer. The snake moved out of the drawer and went under the dresser. He dropped his "lunch" off there, but was too quick and moved back up to the top drawer. I quickly moved his meal into the bucket so she didn't have to see it, not a pretty sight. I was only able to open the drawers an inch or so. The lady gave me permission to do whatever I had to in order to get the snake out, so I started prying off the back panel of the dresser. Finally the snake got out of the dresser and I was able to catch him. Hopefully he is doing well in his new home now! Next I had a rattlesnake in a garage. This one was just a baby and he has a new home now too :) My last snake was one where someone saw the snake under their car and then it disappeared and she was convinced it was in her engine somewhere. When I arrived there was another couple including a woman with a nice camera. I figured she liked taking pictures, so I handed her my camera too :) They told me they last saw the snake by the front tire. So i squatted down and started searching in the wheel well. Finally I thought to look in the tire and low and behold...there it was sitting inside the wheel. I was able to catch him and it was a red diamondback, not as common out here, so that was really neat! I have to say, they are much fiestier than the southern pacifics. I've never had an adult fight me so much and try to bite my tongs. I guess I moved too quickly (not exactly something I try to prolong) but she didn't get any pics of me holding the snake. I did take one just before releasing it though... And lastly I picked up 3 dogs and a sea gull tonight, but those stories just aren't as interesting!

Peeu!!!

So today I got a call that a skunk got stuck in a dog trap we have set up. Now I have responded to calls where there are sick/injured skunks that aren't moving and they are "fairly" easy to handle without getting sprayed. My challenge was that this was a very healthy and very mobile skunk in the trap, which means it could turn around and spray wherever it wanted while being protected in the cage. At first I covered the trap with a blanket and towel to help block the spray, but that just made it comfortable/dark for the skunk and he wouldn't budge. I even tried sprinkling water on it to try and get him to run away from it. Instead he just stared at me and looked confused. Poor thing, they really do have cute little faces. He still scared me though! The camera seemed to spark the skunk's attention and he started moving toward me. He didn't move far before I jumped back and startled him back into the trap! Eventually I braved getting close enough to the trap to unlock the chain that was keeping it in place. I moved the trap out of the shade and removed the blankets. The little guy was ready to leave then and I had to tinker with the front of the trap to get it open while he was standing right there! Thankfully I survived the task without getting sprayed!!!

Snow day!

The pups and I took full advantage of the snow left behind after last weeks storm. I've been waiting over 4 years to take them and have had their "snow" jackets for several years now, but this was the first time they have ever touched the snow. We didn't go where it was really deep as i don't have tire chains, but we enjoyed what we could find on the side of the road. Kahlua and Zoey's feet sank just a few inches into the snow and they couldn't have cared less. All they cared about is they got to go on a car ride and a W-A-L-K! Hopefully one day I will get to take them where there is some serious snow and see how they handle that!

My new buddies

Last week they let me loose for a day when my trainer called out sick. I just helped out doing basic calls and my first call was to get a ferret that had been left in a small carrier at a park. Unfortunately, ferrets are illegal in California so it's not as simple as getting him adopted. He is very friendly and even gave me kisses (on the hand) yesterday. He even allowed me to give him a bath and trim his nails. This morning I decided he needed to stretch his legs as his cage isn't that big. He ran around the office for a bit and enjoyed the halloween candy left on the desk. He was so adorable as he would grab a piece of candy and then go drop it off in a corner behind a computer. When I finally cleaned up after him there was about twenty pieces back there! Not sure exactly what his future will be, but either a rescue or fish and game should be coming to pick him up. Hopefully he finds a wonderful home with wonderful people that won't abandon him at a park.




Today we picked up a blue heron. I'll admit, this one kinda scared me, and I thought my trainer was crazy when she said to go pick him up! Look at the size of that beak! Anyway, with a little instruction, I was able to pick him up and bring him back to the truck. As a joke, I leaned in toward the bird to give it a "kiss," but I think this picture was taken as he turned his head/beak towards me and I was backing away.

Making Headlines

There are days I wonder what I’m doing, but then I get reminded how much I love my job when we receive such diverse types of calls. Not only that, but when you think you are going out on an ordinary call, it turns out to be anything but. San Diego has provided some interesting challenges for me including traffic, freeways, and parking, but you can’t beat walking the Ocean Beach Pier looking for an injured seagull. Unfortunately we were not able to find the person that called or the seagull, but it did make for a nice photo op.

Then we got called out for a raccoon that had been stuck at the top of an electric pole all night. The pole was in someone’s backyard and their dogs chased the raccoon up the pole. We thought it may not be alive when we first arrived, but then it turned its head and looked right at us. The poor thing was scared stiff. We contacted SDG&E to get a cherry picker or something to get the little guy down and I was getting excited I might be able to go up in one. They were busy at the time so we left and planned to return with them when they had time. I guess they showed up without us and decided they would not do anything and the raccoon would come down on its own. We went back to the property and thankfully it had come down somehow, we checked for footprints and possibly and injured raccoon (if it had fallen), but found neither. Hopefully he is doing well now.

Then we arrive for a basic dog running loose call at a park. The call had come in earlier in the morning so we figured the dog would be long gone by the late afternoon when we arrived, but it wasn’t. The dog was very skittish and would not let anyone near her. She was hanging out by a busy street and we were afraid she might get hit, or worse yet, get hit while we were trying to catch her. After twenty minutes of trying to win her over with hot dogs and wet food, we had almost given up and were going to return with a dog trap when the dog ran under a car parked on the side of the road. Two citizens had somewhat trapped her there. With help of a couple people surrounding the car and me and my trainer working together to get her on leash we were able to catch her. She was a still a little freaked out being on the leash and we slowly walked back to the truck. By the time we got to the truck she was willing to let us pet her. When we got her back to the shelter she became our best buddy. I would squat next to her and she would lean on me and jump on me. Here she is even performing sit and shake for her photo!

Okay, I know this is a long blog, but while planning out our typical day, we received a report for an injured duck that had arrows stuck in it at a local lake. When we arrived one of the park employees had the duck in a crate for us. We were amazed that despite the arrows the duck was standing inside the crate. We brought it back to the shelter and everyone was as surprised as we were. We took the duck to the vet where we got to watch as he removed the arrows and we collected them for evidence. Then we got to submit the arrows for evidence. It is pretty neat getting to investigate on a case like this, and hopefully we catch who did this. And to make it even better, the duck seems to be doing very well!

When we returned the crate to the employee, the news cameras were on scene and they got me and my trainer on camera. I’m the one sitting in the truck. It’s hard to see because of the glare though.
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-duck-shot,0,396264.story

I am still waiting for my next rattlesnake call, but for some reason I think they hide until I’m off shift. I haven’t had one in almost a month. Although, we did get a call about a king cobra and we were asked to go out and investigate with our public information officer as a news van was on scene. It seems that this was a hoax, but the camera got me and my trainer as we were standing in a parking lot nearby. I think they know how deathly afraid I am of possibly having to talk on camera, so they like to pick on me and make me go out on these types of calls. I’d rather of handled the king cobra than talk on camera! (and Karen, for obvious reasons, you may not want to watch this clip!)
http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11354683