With their superior sense of smell and hearing, dogs often noticed things that their humans pass by. Though they cannot talk to share their findings with humans, dogs still know how to get attention and get a human to be interested in a situation. One adorable dog from Duluth, Minnesota, used his extraordinary senses to save a fellow animal in distress.
Kenai is a fluffy, golden white dog who enjoys exploring the woods with his owner, Kerrie. Recently, Kerrie and Kenai were walking through some woods with their friend Pam when Kenai began to run ahead of the women, barking wildly. Kerrie and Pam followed Kenai and discovered a bald eagle laying slightly off the path.
Kenai’s barking led the women to the patch of snow where the majestic bird was huddled behind branches. When the humans and dog approached, the eagle hopped and flew away from them nervously. The sun was starting to set and the women were not sure if anything was wrong with the bird, so they decided to leave it alone because they did not want to risk an attack from a healthy bald eagle that felt threatened.
However, something seemed wrong, so they decided to check on the eagle the next day. At dawn on Friday, Kerrie and Pam returned to the icy area by the lake where they had encountered the bald eagle. The eagle was gone, but they noticed that footprints in the snow showed his movements. Clearly, something was wrong, because the eagle was hopping along the ground instead of flying through the air.
Because eagles are very strong and have sharp talons and a beak, the women did not want to try to do anything to the eagle on their own. The women decided to call the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to get help for the injured bald eagle. Two experienced workers came to the woods to help the eagle. It was difficult to get a hold of him without further injuring him, but eventually the eagle was captured and taken to a safe location in Wildwoods, a wildlife rehabilitation center.
The first thing that the eagle’s rescuers noticed was that his feathers were frozen and he was severely chilled after spending a night stuck on the ground beside the lake. Further examination showed that he had a shoulder injury, which Wildwoods believed to be fixable, and the eagle also has lead poisoning. This poisoning most likely was not intentional, but it can sometimes accidentally happen during or after the hunting season for deer.
Wildwoods had Pam and Kerrie take the eagle to the Raptor Center of St. Paul for a more experienced and thorough examination. At the Raptor Center, the bald eagle will be properly treated and eventually released back into the wild after it heals. The center says that ““Kerrie and Pam especially credit Kenai and her sharp eyes for spotting this bird so that he could be rescued! Good dog, Kenai!”
