Some time ago a regular client at the Fairfield Veterinary Centre rescued a badly injured pigeon. The poor bird had become entangled around wires and cables at the factory where he worked. Undaunted by the fact the bird was unable to escape from its natural predators and would never be able to fly again he took it upon himself to look after this bird and named it "Penny".

"Penny" has thrived for over 4 years in her adopted home where she has been well looked after - despite an initial anxiety that the fine diet she was offered may only have been a prelude to her becoming a feature on her owners menu!

However, "Penny" started to become severely lame. Her foot became very swollen below the metal ring attached to her leg and she was in danger of losing her leg and probably her life.

I expressed my doubts and concerns to her owner regarding the difficulty involved in removing the ring without damaging her leg. Nevertheless, spurred on by their optimism we treated "Penny" with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories in an effort to reduce the swelling and allow metal cutting equipment access to the ring.

The following day, with a considerable degree of anxiety on both mine and "Penny's" face, as a result of the degree of force required, we managed to cut through the ring successfully.

The vast majority of avian wildlife rarely recover from a single major trauma event. "Penny" seems intent on achieving a record!