David Jones

This is baby Nately. Found out in the day, so already dying, and taken home by the finder. A wonderful, kind, and compassionate act. But then the good intentions went bad. Instead of getting him straight to a rescue to be treated urgently, as the emergency that he, and any other hedgehog seen out in the day time is, he was kept. So poor Nately had to continue suffering the pain, and now the additional fear and stress of captivity, until the children came home from school, so they could see him and be entertained. But then his torment wasn't finished - Nately had to endure more precious wasted hours, as he struggled to stay alive, until the finder's husband came home from work and he could be exhibited again. Finally, that evening, he was taken - to a vet. Vets are for domestic animals only, they are not wildlife trained, and most will just PTS wildlife. Fortunately for Nately it was my lovely vets, who are professional enough, and humble enough to know the only safe option for Nately was to refer him straight to a rescue, so called me to see if I would take him. Nately has made it through the night but his outlook is very poor indeed, because of this delay. He is emaciated, and utterly overwhelmed by internal parasites. The finder knew enough to know that a hedgehog out in the day is seriously ill, so needs help. I have no doubt that had Nately cried, the finder would keep up her good intentions and treat him like any other sick animal, by getting him help immediately, as her kindness is evident. But sick wild prey animals don't vocalise their distress. A cry of pain from a prey animal in the wild would be: "Hey! HEY! I'm hurt and sick and too weak to put up a fight. Anyone want to come and eat me?" They don't lie around looking sick, for the same reason. Instead they hide their weakness, struggle on, suffer their pain in silence. They eat when food is offered, because they never know when that might happen again. Please don't mistake this desperate survival tactic as being 'quite happy, running around, eating'. A hedgehog out in the day is an emergency, they are dying - please always get them to a rescue urgently.