Paul and Susan Hill

Archive for the ‘Wild Life’ Category

Not 
many people get a picture of this proud bird 
snuggled up next to 
them

Freedom 
and Jeff
Freedom 
and I have been together 10 years this summer. 
She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken 
wings. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way 
even after surgery, it was broken in 4 
places.   She’s my 
baby.
When 
Freedom came in she could not stand 
and both wings were broken. She was 
emaciated and covered in lice. We made the 
decision to give her a chance at life, so I took 
her to the vets office.   From then 
on, I was always around her. We had her in a 
huge dog carrier with the top off,  and it 
was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to 
lay in.  I used to sit and talk to her, 
urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay 
there looking at me with those big brown eyes. 
We also had to tube feed her for 
weeks.
This 
went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still 
couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the 
decision was made to euthanize her if she 
couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t 
want to cross that line between torture and 
rehab, and it looked like death was 
winning.   She was going to be put 
down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in 
on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go 
to the center that Thursday, because I couldn’t 
bear the thought of her being euthanized;  
but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone 
was grinning from ear to ear.  I went 
immediately back to her cage; and there she was, 
standing on her own, a big beautiful 
eagle.  She was ready to live.  I was 
just about in tears by then.   That 
was a very good day. 
We 
knew she could never fly,  so the director 
asked me to glove train her. I got her used to 
the glove, and then to jesses,  and we 
started doing education programs for schools in 
western Washington 
.   We wound up in the newspapers, 
radio (believe it or not) and some 
TV.   Miracle Pets even did a show 
about us.
In 
the spring of 2000,  I was diagnosed with 
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  I had stage 3, 
which is not good (one major organ plus 
everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of 
chemo.   Lost the hair – the whole 
bit.   I missed a lot of work. When I 
felt good enough,   I would go to Sarvey 
and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would 
also come to me in my dreams and help me fight 
the cancer. This happened time and time 
again.
Fast 
forward to November 2000, the day after 
Thanksgiving.   I went in for my last 
checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not 
all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last 
option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they 
did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for 
the results.  I went in Monday, and I was 
told that all the cancer was 
gone.

So 
the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and 
take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty 
and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her 
up, and we went out front to the top of the 
hill.   I hadn’t said a word to 
Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me 
and wrapped both her wings around me to where I 
could feel them pressing in on my back  
(I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she 
touched my nose with her beak and stared into my 
eyes, and we just stood there like 
that
for I don’t know how long.  That was a 
magic moment.  We have been soul mates ever 
since she came in.  This is a very special 
bird.
On 
a side note:   I have had people who 
were sick come up to us when we are out, and 
Freedom has some kind of hold on 
them.   I once had a guy who was 
terminal come up to us and I let him hold 
her.  His knees just about buckled and he 
swore he could feel her power coarse through his 
body. I have so many stories like 
that.
I 
never forget the honor I have of being so close 
to such a magnificent spirit as 
Freedom.
Hope 
you  enjoy this.
Jeff

Meet the wiliest of all coyotes: Hit by a car at 75mph, embedded in the grill, road for 600 miles – and SURVIVED!

When a brother and sister struck a coyote at 75mph they assumed they had killed the animal and drove on. 
They didn’t realize this was the toughest creature ever to survive a hit-and-run. 
Eight hours, two fuel stops, and 600 miles later they found the wild animal embedded in their front fender – and very much alive. 
The brother and sister were Daniel and Tevyn East driving at night along Interstate 80 near the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed a pack of coyotes near the roadside on October 12.

When one of the animals ran in front of the car, the impact sounded fatal so the siblings thought there no point in stopping. 
‘Right off the bat, we knew it was bad,’ Daniel explained. ‘We thought the story was over.’ 
After the incident around 1am, they continued their 600mile drive to North San Juan – even stopping for fuel at least twice. 
But it was only when they finally reached their destination at 9am did they take time to examine what damage they may have sustained. 
At first it looked as though it was going to be quite gruesome.

‘Daniel saw fur and the body inside the grill,’ Tevyn East said. ‘I was trying to keep some distance. Our assumption was it was part of the coyote – it didn’t register it was the whole animal.’ Daniel East got a broom to try and pry the remains out of the bumper and got the shock of his life. ‘It flinched,’ Tevyn East said. ‘It was a huge surprise – he got a little freaked out.’

‘We knew it was bad’: Tevyn East, who was in the car when it hit the coyote, bends down to take a look at the fur poking through the fender

Fur Pete’s sake: What Mr. East spotted as he bent down to inspect the damage to his car – the body of the coyote poking out through the radiator 

Wily coyote: The animal’s head can be seen as rescuers took apart the front fender to save it after it was struck by the car at 75mph 

Miracle escape: As the animal struggled, wildlife protection officials put a loop around its neck to prevent it from further injuring itself 
The front of the car is completely taken apart as the coyote begins to wriggle free 

And voila! Tricky the toughest coyote ever rests in a cage after its ordeal – which it survived with just some scrapes to its paw 

This is Brooks Falls just upstream from where the Brooks River flows into Naknek

Lake in the Katami National Monument , Alaska . Have you ever seen a Wolf fish for salmon?