This was published as part of the first edition of the Primer Papers, a publication created by the kids at the Primer Newsroom. Primer is building the world’s first home for ambitious kids. Learn more here and find out how your kid can publish too.
My name is Eva and I'm 12 years old. Some of my hobbies are making jewelry, gardening, and playing video games! One of my greatest passions is ballet. I spend at least 15 hours a week during practice. I think Primer is a great place to start communicating with people about your interests so I hope you enjoy the Newsroom!
Hey there! My name is Eva, I’m 12 years old and I love rescuing animals.
My journey began when I was about eight years old. My mom found a cat while she was driving near a park. She picked up the cat and put it into her car to leave in the neighborhood. When I came home from school, my mom told me all about the cat she found in the park. When I went outside to check it out, the cat came running towards me and the can of tuna I had in my hand. She had a few scratches across her face and was very slow when it came to movement. She ran up to me and started kneading my leg. After a few moments, I removed her from my leg since she was digging her claws into my pants.
After having her in our neighborhood for a few weeks, we took her to the vet just to see if we could keep her. Sadly, she had to be put down due to blood cancer and leukemia.
This was the beginning of my journey down the road of animal rescue. Some of the other animals I rescued were two juvenile baby birds, an abused dog with an insane flea infestation, and my most recent rescue, a baby opossum.
Let me tell you a little more about the abused dog with fleas…
One evening I was walking back home from a scooter ride. I saw a short stubby dog with black and white spots on its body. I hurried inside and grabbed a bowl and filled it with cat food. I dashed back outside and tried to chase the dog down to give it the bowl. At first I thought it was such an ugly dog until I saw what made it look so ugly. She had fur missing on her ears and eyelids. The poor dog was being eaten by fleas. She had fat fleas sitting on her eyelids eating what they could and some under her ears clumped together. We knew they were not ticks since they easily popped off if you touched it. The dog seemed to be scared of humans and everything around her. She ran away at any noise she heard and began whimpering when you got too close. I left the bowl on the floor and ran back inside to watch her from the window.
Later that night, my mom came home and found the dog right where I left her. My mom was obsessed by how cute she was despite the fleas and missing hair. But that was when the real trouble began. While my mom was trying to bribe the dog to come inside by making a trail of meat, there was an elderly woman who looked no more than 56 years old trying to catch the dog in a towel to put into a cage. We asked the woman if this was her dog but she replied with a no. Instead, she told us she was trying to put the dog in the cage to take her to the pound. We were talking to the lady for nearly an hour until we had to ‘scream’ for her to go back home. My mom continued making the meat path leading towards the house until finally, after two hours, she was in. The dog was inside our house scared half to death hiding behind a lamp.
We made a comfortable spot for her in our backyard and took her to the vet the next day. She came back home to us and we began to bathe her in the special soap we needed to use. We’ve been taking care of her ever since and she is currently sleeping on my towel as I’m writing this. This was a good example as to how one rescue led an animal to live with me instead of being released.
I feel like animal rescues are not only important for preserving the life of that animal but more for the future. What I mean by this is that the chances of this animal dying could maybe raise a spike in the species going extinct. The odds of that are low but not entirely avoidable. So what I’m trying to say is basically to rescue an animal if it is in need of help.
When rescuing an animal it is important to check if it is in real need of help. Sometimes we mistake a little rabbit lying down taking a break for an animal in need. It’s good to monitor the animal for a good amount of time before taking it somewhere to be treated. If the animal shows no signs of being hurt, then just leave it alone. Although, some of the more silent pains are the worst. What I mean by “silent pains are the worst” is the fact that most animals that show no sign of danger are sometimes in need of the most help. Just check that the animal still has the same amount of energy as it usually should. My cat, the orange tabby aka Pickles, seemed perfectly normal at first until we realized she was really inactive and slow. She turned out to have blood cancer. Just take this as a reference to keep in mind.
If the animal is in need of help the first thing you need to do is check what is wrong. If the creature has been run over or is in desperate need of a vet, take it to the nearest walk-in animal hospital and do NOT treat it at home.
If they are maybe lacking food or are a little weak, you could take it home and follow the following steps or take it to a vet or rehabilitation center. Now for the steps if you do end up taking the animal home:
This does happen often but if your animal does not make it, its death was probably from the lack of food or missing its mother.
What I learned from these experiences was to embrace the moment. I enjoyed rescuing animals knowing it would either help the creature go back into its habitat safely or let it rest comfortably free from pain in its last moments.
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