lending a hand

Last week our neighbor was frantic - a little bird had gotten itself caught in one of her outdoor "insect glue traps."  In an effort to free itself the little bird became more "trapped" and had glue all over his feathers and feet.  Very carefully, Kristi and Phylis (our neighbor) pulled the bird loose from the trap.  Still, the bird could not fly; his feathers were too "gummed up" from the glue.  The question now became, "How do you safely remove glue from feathers?"  Kristi took the bird to two local Vets who told her to first wash the bird in Canola oil and then with Dawn dish soap and water.  With a little tinder love and care, Kristi soon had the bird "cleaned up" - but, he still didn't seem able to fly.  We decided his feathers were still too heavy and wet.  So Kristi placed him in a shady place in the back yard (with our cat locked in the bed room) and allowed him to "air dry."  Before long he "took to the air" and rejoined his friends.  Now this may not sound like a lengthy process, but in fact, Kristi spent almost 1/2 of a day "lending a hand" to this little bird.  I think there are several lessons for us all...

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