A worried animal lover, an older and a very well-mannered lady burst into an animal rescue centre, after the baby hedgehog she had rescued the previous night “hadn’t moved or pooped all night”.
While waiting anxiously for the bad news by the vet, the poor woman couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve possibly gone wrong! She provided food and water, she kept it in a warm, dark place and to make sure she didn’t unnecessarily stress the animal out, she let it be for the night.
So, what happened the previous day?
The lady found
what she believed to be an injured little creature on the pavement and despite
it being somewhat lighter and fluffier than the normally spiky hedgehogs, she 'spent
the night looking after it’ only to see it motionless the following morning.
Dr Kotze said she knew it wasn’t a hedgehog the second she
opened the box.
“It was pretty obvious to us, but I can also see how she was
mistaken,” the vet added. “I went back out and explained, ‘I’m sorry it’s just
a bobble.’”
The Aftermath
She said: “You’re joking! Oh my goodness, how did I manage
to do that!?”
She took the box from Dr Kotze and left quite quickly.
“I found it funny afterwards, but I couldn't quite believe
what I was seeing because to me a hedgehog is obviously a hedgehog. I don't
think she'll make the same mistake again, I think she'll check next time.”
Dr Kotze
added that if people see a hedgehog out in the open during daytime, they should
take them to a rescue as it is a clear sign they are distressed.
“It’s a
golden rule that hedgehogs shouldn’t be out in daytime, especially little ones
like that, but she did absolutely the right thing - aside from the fact that it
wasn’t a hedgehog. Mostly if they’re found out in the daytime in the open,
there’s definitely something wrong and they should be taken to rescue.”
