Humane Society rescues an owl

WARWICK-Who gives a hoot? The Warwick Valley Humane Society, that's who. On Thursday, Aug. 12, the Society received a call from a resident living on Cascade Road that a large owl had caught it's leg in the netting over his garden and could not fly away. Animal Control Officer Laura Trezza responded. Because an owl has 360-degree eyesight, Trezza was not able to sneak up behind him. So instead, while he was on the ground, she directly and calmly approached him. Trezza then tucked in his wings and gently placed him in a pet carrier for transport to the Society's animal shelter. The shelter is located on Public Works Road just off Kings Highway. With shelter aide Tim Adams properly holding the owl, Trezza carefully removed the twine, which was wrapped around and imbedded in the owl's claw. Tim Adams is the son of local veterinarian Dr. Joseph Adams and has had experience handling birds and animals. "This gorgeous creature," said Suzyn Barron, president of the Warwick Valley Humane Society, "was quietly and successfully released at dusk to return to its natural habitat." Barron reported that her organization frequently gets calls to rescue a variety of animals and birds other than cats and dogs. This year, alone, the list n which sounds like the lines of a well-known Christmas song n includes seven rabbits, six ducklings, one goose, one turkey, one duck, one guinea pig, 13 birds, another owl and one fawn. The most unusual rescue to date, however, was that of an iguana. That story with photographs appeared last year in The Warwick Advertiser. According to Barron, with all this on-the-job experience, Animal Control Officer Trezza is becoming an expert at handling exotic birds and animals. "It was really exciting and a bit frightening to be so close to such a beautiful animal which you wouldn't normally encounter," said Trezza. "I am very pleased that we were able to help free him."