THE OWL

I have known for many years that our kids have big hearts when it comes to animals.  All get weak at the knees at the sight of a droopy eyed dog or a mare with her foal.  Each of them is different of course, ranging from general concern to PETA types fiercely protective of the rights of animals.   The traits of most kids stem from family genes.  I am not sure if I am responsible for the extreme end of the scale but the overall love for animals, birds and fish could be traced to me. 

When I was about 10 years old our teacher gave us an assignment to bring to school something that meant a great deal to us.  I thought about it long and hard and came up with an idea.  Roy, a good friend of ours lived out in the country on a large parcel of land.  There were possums, skunk, squirrels and other animals as well as a variety of birds.  On one visit he told us of an owl that had prepared a nest on the ground in preparation for having baby owls.  He had been watching this beautiful owl sitting on its nest for some time and felt hatching time was close.

On the way home I asked my Dad if I could take this owl to class with me for my assignment.  After much discussion about the difficulty of capturing the bird and keeping it safe my Dad called Roy to see what might be done.  He said "I will think about it and call you".

A few days later he called with a plan.  Watching the owl he had noticed it would leave the next for brief periods of time.  He thought if he built a box that could be held up at one end by a stick, tied a long piece of string to the stick, he might be able to catch the owl.

Late one afternoon he saw the owl leave.  He grabbed the box and stick, ran to the nest and positioned the box over the nest, held up by the stick.  He then took the end of the attached string and hid in the nearby bushes.  It was almost totally dark when the owl returned.  He waited patiently until the owl settled in to the nest, then pulled the string.  The stick fell out from under the box and it fell over the owl.  He crept up to the box, lifted it off the ground enough to peek in and saw the owl was safe.

He called my Dad to tell him he was on his way to our house.  Our special class was the next day so I was filled with excitement. 

It was late at night when he arrived.  He placed the box on a table in our living room and opened the lid slightly.  I got up close, peered in and all I could see were 2 huge yellow eyes looking back at me.  I closed the box and gulped.  We thanked Roy and he left. 

I was toast.  I cried and cried.  I told my Dad I could not do this.  It didn’t matter that someone had gone to a great deal of trouble, I wanted to take the owl back to her nest where she belonged.  My Dad called Roy and asked him to come back, pick up the owl and return it to its home.  I took an old football to class instead. 

Through the years there have been many reminders of our kid’s affection for pets, recently, 2 painful ones.  Each involving rescued animals, one a dog and one a cat.  Both extremely hurtful, as any pet lover can tell you.  While there may be pain at times I hope they, like me, count themselves grateful to be among those that care deeply for God’s creatures.