When Nancy Skelcher wrapped a warm towel around the frightened and injured toy poodle
that had found its way into a Sechelt care home, she thought the small animal
might have been attacked by a bird of prey.
She was right – and oddly enough it wasn’t Ms. Skelcher’s first time helping
an animal that had been dropped from the sky.
The six-year-old poodle is recovering after she was attacked
by the large bird – possibly a bald eagle – two weeks ago.
SPCA officials have named the dog May, after the month in which she was found.
May suffered deep gouges to her back and multiple broken ribs.
But the SPCA says the incident might actually have been a stroke of luck,
since it brought the neglected stray animal to their attention.
Ms. Skelcher, a licensed practical nurse, was near the end of her shift
at the seniors care home when the dog came through a kitchen door around 5 a.m.
“It was a little white dog who was terrified and
obviously not in very good shape.
She wouldn’t let me pick her up,
so I just went and got a towel from the warmer,
threw it over top of her and bundled her up,”
she said in a phone interview from Sechelt,
a Sunshine Coast community about two hours from Vancouver.
Ms. Skelcher said the dog appeared badly hurt.
It had stopped bleeding but had a number of puncture wounds.
She didn’t know exactly what had happened,
but made a guess based on past experience.
“I actually have had a pet with talon wounds on it before.
When we were discussing it [at work], I said it could even be an eagle wound.”
About 20 years ago, Ms. Skelcher’s cat Smoke was attacked
in a similar manner by a bald eagle.
The black cat survived the ordeal, though Ms. Skelcher was left
with costly veterinarian bills. Smoke has since died.
Shannon Broderick, manager of the SPCA’s Sunshine Coast branch,
said although no one saw May get grabbed, she’s sure that’s what happened.
“The veterinarians just feel that that’s the only way that
the type of wounds that she has could have occurred,” she said.
Ms. Broderick said May’s wounds, which were at least one inch deep,
have mostly healed. The six-pound, middle-aged dog has grown more
calm with each passing day. In fact,
she’s gotten so feisty she’s chased Ms. Broderick’s collie from the food bowl.
May was already in poor shape before the attack.
The SPCA believes she had been on her own for some time,
as her nails were long overgrown and her teeth badly decayed.
She had no tags.
May will need immediate dental surgery, expected to cost about $4,000.
The SPCA is hoping for help from the public.
Ms. Skelcher said she and her co-workers are interested in contributing.
The SPCA will wait until the surgery is complete before making adoption efforts.
Ms. Broderick said there are a number of predatory birds in the region that
could have been responsible – from bald eagles, to golden eagles,
to large ravens. She said her branch has seen ravens fly away
with full bowls of kibble.
Ms. Broderick said she’s heard of incidents in which cats were picked up,
but never dogs. Lorie Chortyk, an SPCA spokeswoman,
said she recalled a couple of incidents with dogs in the last few years.
Last month, a Minnesota newspaper reported on a toy poodle that
was attacked by a bald eagle in the town of Kenyon. Peanut was
dropped about three storeys, but survived.
May, the poodle, weighs six pounds.
Incorrect information appeared in an earlier version of this story,
this version has been corrected.
See CTVBC's video newscast about Miracle May by clicking this picture.
