SANIBEL, Fla. — The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) is back at its home facility on Sanibel Island.
The non-profit was forced off of the island after Hurricane Ian, but that didn't stop the work that needed to take care of wildlife impacted by the disaster — CROW is busy rehabilitating dozens of animals a day.
Fox 4 got a behind the scenes look at the clinic from Associate Veterinarian Laura Kellow, from the oxygen incubators to the x-ray machine.
"All of our patients, especially our red tide patients, get x-rays. The reason is a lot of them have fishhooks that they ingest," Kellow said.
Dozens of animals are brought in every day. On Thursday, CROW saw 48 patients alone brought in.
Fox 4 watched as CROW treated a pelican who was severely sick from red tide.
"They look wobbly, they can't stand up, they can't hold their head up, Kellow explained. "It also affects all of their nerves in their bodies. They have difficulty blinking, their heart rate can be low and they can have trouble moving food through their intestinal tract, so the food is rotting."
Most of the animals being treated for red tide are coming from our coastal communities: Sanibel, Captiva, Fort Myers Beach. So being back on Sanibel makes it easier for CROW to operate.
For the last six months, CROW had been operating out of temporary facilities; finding space at other non-profits such as the Animal Refuge Center in Fort Myers.
"The hospital never stopped taking care of patients," said Kellow.
CROW's Executive Director Allison Charney Hussey said she's proud of her team for never failing in fulfilling their mission.
"The last six months has been crazy, exhausting, wonderful," she said. "The hospital looks better than ever and we are just happy we will be able to continue our mission."
