Goodbye Sandy Pines!

It's over, and I am home! It is honestly the weirdest feeling ever. It is weird being able to sleep in, not having to plan or worry about my day, not having to look after a lot of animals. It is definitely more relaxing, but also a little boring.

My last week at Sandy Pines was very exciting! We got in two species of owls I had never seen before! I think out of all the patients I worked with at Sandy Pines, owls were my favourite!

A little Saw Whet owl that came in on my last day. They are one of the smallest breeds of owls in Ontario!

A screech owl that also came in my last day! I didn't realise how small they actually are!

I was on birds my last three days, so I got to work with the owls more! We released several of our barred owls, which was great! We were also able to move some outside, so by the end of my time, there were only two barred owls left inside out of the five, and we had gone down from nine barred owls to seven! The barred owls have had a good healing success rate this year, and it was so cool seeing them go from very weak to strong and feisty! 

One of the barred owls that was moved outside.

Remember Belle? She is outside now! She was probably my favourite owl!

We also started getting several bats in during my last week! Sue said that bat admissions become more common during the winter season, because of hibernation. To keep them in hibernation the bats are put in little boxes in the fridge, which I found was a pretty cool idea!

One of the little bats that came in. We were syringe feeding it fluids to keep it hydrated.

My last days I spent a lot of time with the horses!  I rode everyone the last day, except Saffy. The ground was still slippy from the snow, and knowing she likes to try and bolt, I didn't think it was a good idea. I still gave her a treat though! When my parents came I said an official goodbye. I hugged Phelix for a long time, and it literally took all I had not to breakdown in front of everyone.

Last ride on Josse

My Dad meeting the horses

Phelix and I during the summer

We were best buddies!

Lucinda and I riding Phelix

Riding Saffy

 Anyhow, Alex and I had the same days off on our last week, so we spent the time walking around town, hiking in the bush, and playing cards. Alex and I grew really close after Lucinda left, so it was very hard not to cry when she left for the airport our last day.

Alex, Maddie, and I! The crazy trio!

 On our last night as a group, we went out for dinner, with everyone including the staff! It was a great night out, and made me realise how lucky I have been to have worked with these incredible people! That evening we celebrated Sue's birthday with a cake that Rose made, which was amazing! Then we gathered in the living room all together, and talked about our intern projects and our favourite moments as interns here!

I think my favourite moment here was when I held my first raptor, which was an Osprey. It was just the coolest feeling ever, and I have loved working with the raptors ever since! 

However, my favourite patients were the rats! It was so cool to see them grow up and they were really cute!

My last day was a sad one, mostly because I knew at some point I would have to say goodbye to everyone. The remaining interns, Rose, Adrianna, Meghan, and I gathered in the raptor room, and had one big group hug. The four of us had been together since I arrived, so it was rather heartbreaking saying goodbye. We had been quite the team! I said goodbye to Leah. She said she was happy she had hired me, and she also mentioned she liked my intern project, which made me happy! Saying goodbye to Sue was sad too! She gave me a hug from each of the horses, and left me with some advice. She wrote on my intern shirt...

"Love all, Trust few, always paddle your own canoe!" 

Sue is an incredible women, and I will miss having her around!

As we drove away, My last view of Sandy Pines was Sue, Adrianna, and Rose waving a tearful goodbye! I will never forget the people I have met here, or the animals. I do live in Ontario, so I should come visit Sandy Pines again at some point. As for the other interns....

I guess I am just going to have to travel and see them!

Not such a bad thing!

Anyhow, this experience was incredible and I am so thankful to Sue, and Leah for giving me this amazing opportunity! I learned so much that I wouldn't have been able to learn anywhere else! I am also thankful to the staff who were very patient with me while I was learning. Another thank you to the interns for supporting me through everything, and being the best group of friends I could have ever asked for! I hope to see you all again! And a final thank you to all who read, and followed this blog. It was very encouraging to see all the numbers of viewers. More then anticipated actually! It kept this blog going, and now I have something to look back on to remember this time. 

If you want to continue reading about my adventures I have an old blog  http://countrytowngirl17.blogspot.ca/ That I did as a child, and I have a new one that is going to be running! https://nomadspiritcanadian.blogspot.ca/

"I think I am quite ready for another adventure." - Bilbo Baggins.

So farewell Sandy Pines, and my friends!
 
Another adventure awaits!