We tagged along with Warren before the severe weather event to see him in action…
It’s a Thursday, and it’s a bit drizzly, but that doesn’t deter Warren, ‘cos he’s off to rescue some birds! First stop, Greenslopes to pick up a sick budgie at a vet. He then heads to Manly West where there are two baby birds for him to rescue. One is a little swallow with a broken leg and the other is a fully white baby bird that was later identified as a baby lorikeet.
Next, Warren heads to Highgate Hill where a sick tawny frogmouth is unwilling to move in someone’s backyard and needs to be rescued. Lots of birds were swooping it and it still didn’t want to go anywhere, so something was clearly wrong. It’s clear once Warren picked the bird up that it was quite unwell, so Warren rushes the bird back to our Wildlife Hospital with the other birds he has rescued already.
Warren’s next job is to set some traps. He has two traps to set. The first is for a mother cat in Redbank whose litter of kittens were rescued the previous day, so we needed to capture the mumma cat to ensure the family could be reunited!
The second is a trap in Tarragindi for a possum that may have dermatitis. On the way there, Warren picks up a baby ringtail possum from a Moorooka vet.
Warren then is off to Riverview to rescue a cat that has spent the last four days in an elderly gentleman's shed. Warren believes the cat hasn't left the shed for any food or water so is concerned the cat may be unwell. After 45 minutes trying to coax the cat out with food, it seems the only way to catch this cat will be to come back with a cat trap.
At this point, Warren's shift is nearly over so he hands the last cat trapping job for the day over to the night shift team.
The last job of the day is for Warren to wrangle a big male brushtail possum that is hiding in someone's shed in Forest Lake. The poor possum had quite severe dermatitis. Warren signs off his day taking the possum and other rescued animals back to the RSPCA Wildife Hospital for treatment.
Thank you Warren for all that you do for the animals, we couldn’t help so many in need without you!
If becoming a volunteer Animal Ambulance driver sounds like a rewarding experience for you, apply online to become a volunteer with the RSPCA today!
