Have you ever wondered what type of person stops for an injured animal on the side of the road?

Well it’s me….

I was driving my daughter to dance class & we passed this cardinal just sitting in the middle of a busy 2 lane road.  

Not squashed….. Not flapping around…. Just chillin….

I drive by & am like….ok…..

We were minutes away from dance, so I dropped her off & when I came back that bird was still there! 

So I pulled over, put my hazards on, figured out what I had in my car & literally waddled (since I'm 8 months pregnant) out into the middle of the road to see what’s up with this bird.

I scooped her up in a disposable mask (which she surprisingly let me do) & carried her to the car, placing her in a target bag till I could get her home.

Don’t judge, I was improvising.

This is my compassionate side at it’s finest, I’m embracing that part of me - the willingness to help other people & animals has always been incredibly strong.

My husband on the other hand, is compassionate but believes nature will take its course, so to each their own.

Fortunately, he totally knew what he was getting into when he married a Licensed Veterinary Technician & wasn’t too surprised when he got home that evening.

Once I got to the house, I gave her a once over & realized the feathers on one of her wings were mostly gone. 

The wing was still intact, no active bleeding, but she will be unable to fly without her feathers.

I have no idea how this happened to her….poor thing.

After finding an amazon box, an old towel, appropriate bird seed from the neighbors & a little water…

I decided it’s time to get this little creature some real help.

I know the vets are pretty busy but I either need to find a wildlife vet or a wildlife rehabber.  

After calling many places no one picked up….

Panic set in….

What if I have to care for this little bird for months?!?

My life is a little busy at the moment, I have 2 little girls, 4 senior pets & a baby due in December, you can guess my attention will be busy elsewhere.

I dropped the girls off Friday at school & kept repeating….. “what am I going to do with this bird?!?”

Have you ever felt this way…..

Overwhelmed after making a split second decision through compassion then realized this could take up waaayyy more of your time than you thought?

Dogs & cats, I can do…...birds…..not so much.

After googling how to care for a cardinal (which I learned it’s ILLEGAL to have wild songbirds as pets) the information hit home that I needed to make sure I was feeding her the correct food, birds can become quite sick if they aren’t eating their normal diet.

That’s something our dogs & cats share at least.  

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I was concentrating on this exact issue for our pets (until the bird came into my life).

Too many of our animals get rushed to the emergency room for unintentional side effects after consuming many of the foods we humans indulge in during this holiday.

Let’s get proactive & learn about safe vs unsafe foods you can feed your dog on Thanksgiving.

CLICK HERE to Download my FREE PDF & learn about all the foods you can safely give your pet so you can have a worry free holiday season!

Back to the bird saga, I was able to find a licensed wildlife rehabber that would take the hurt cardinal that next day!!! 

What a huge relief!!!

I could hug this wonderful compassionate woman! 

You can follow her Facebook page here & hopefully she’ll post updates about Katherine the Cardinal. (That's what my 8 year old named her.)

I hope you all have a great week!

Age is Not a disease.

Enjoy the journey! 

PS Grab your Free PDF on what foods to SAFELY feed your dog on Thanksgiving day!  Stop the worry & confusion & just enjoy the holiday with your pets & family.