Feb. 15, 2008: My neighbors, Fred B. and Laura, find a hurt barred owl on Route 30. It looks like the owl's broken a wing. They bring it to Ron Svec, a vet at the VT-NH Veterinary Clinic in Dummerston. Ron, who's been helping wild birds for over 20 years, takes an Xray of the owl's left wing. Its humerus is broken. But it's a clean break, and there's no sign of infection. Ron thinks he can fix the wing.
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Feb. 16. After his regular office hours, Ron operates on the owl. He gives the bird anesthesia and inserts a rod into the broken humerus. He secures it on the outside of the wing with a gel-like material, sutures up the owl's skin, and immobilizes the wing with a kind of sling. Then he calls Fred Homer.
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