Compass is eating on his own now! Oh, Happy Day!

Remember Compass, our injured pigeon rescue?   When he arrived he had a broken jaw, broken wing and a concussion.  Now, he's halfway to recovery!  Here's the update:

Compass is hardly recognizable as the needy injured feather-ball that he arrived as.  After two weeks of syringe feeding him, his jaw is lined up perfectly again and he is eating seeds on his own!  He tries to fly too, although his wing is still bandaged.  When I come in the room he begins to flap up furiously until I take him out of his crate and let him explore my son's bedroom.  He likes to hang out by the mirror and see his reflection.  He is so fiesty now and I suspect he is looking forward to getting home to his life-mate (as pigeons do.)

I'm soooo happy I saw him eating seeds today.  When he first arrived, the wildlife rescue worker told me that a broken jaw is a "death sentence" for pigeons... not true if someone is willing to nurture them for a few weeks.  I noticed lately that instead of his jaw being lax and him readily swallowing mooshed food, that he struggled when I had to pry his beak open and seemed to not be interested in my offering.  I started "force" feeding him less and less and was hoping that he was eating on his own when I didn't see.. then today I saw him.  So happy.  It's a reward comparable to potty training my first child..lol!

Actually, we saw Compass' family hanging out under the overpass near the highway ramp where he was found and I felt a maternal twinge "Gasp!... I'll be worried about Compass balancing around on those thin ledges when he has just recently healed...."   Maybe I'll let him practice on the screened in porch for a few days before releasing him in two more weeks.  Here he is at his last vet check:

For more on Compass, click here.

Meet Compass, our resucued injured Pigeon.

For me, caring about our planet is directly linked to caring about all of it's inhabitants.  Sometimes this level of caring lands an adorable yet hopelessly injured pigeon in your lap, who quickly earns himself a spot on the spoonfeeding schedule.  Meet Compass, so named for my 4 year old's friend of a friend, the later being a curious monkey named George.

Besides looking good in turquoise, Compass has a perfect disposition.  He sleeps all day, eats what's in his syringe and never sqwaks back.  But then he has had a concusion, been in shock and doped up on pain meds for the past two days.  Actually, he showed his first sign of spunk when the meds kicked in and he, thinking himself healed tried to hoble over the 6 inch side of his box.  (Hey, who hasn't made the same mistake?  Take it easy there Compass!)

What I hope to deliver with this post is the documented recovery and hopefully sucessful release of this bird back into the wild/Springboro city streets.  Actually, we'll be happy to take care of him indefinately but are sincerely hoping he learns to feed himself and fly again.  Here is his story.

My husband found him unconscious on the side of the road near a highway ramp.  He called every wildlife rescue around and they all said that because pigeons are not a native species (where are they from? Mars?) that the only assistance they could offer is euthanasia.  So, we decided to care for him ourselves and took him to a local vet that treats pet birds.  Turns out he has a fractured wing and a broken jaw bone causing his beak to line up crooked.  The vet gave him a pain shot and an antibiotic prescription and advised me how to syringe feed him until he learns to eat again.  This is what I will be doing for the next 4 weeks, as well as taking photos to update his progress.

My boys are 4 and 21 months and they couldn't be happier to have a bird around.  They love birds and feel like real animal rescuers!  Don't worry, I don't let them touch him and he has his own warm, quiet room to rest in when he's not in his net covered box on the back porch.  Please, if any readers have experience with wild birds, drop me a line of adivce!  Otherwise I'm operating on my love, instincts, google and the vet in the next town over to keep this bird comfortable and having a chance a life.

Follow Compass's journey here.

Buffalo Style “Hot Vings” w/ Ranch Recipe

Here is any easy eco-friendly recipe to satisfy a classic craving:

1 package Morningstar Farms Chick'n Strips
1 C Louisiana brand hot sauce
1/4 C Vegan butter such as Soy Garden

Ranch Dressing for dipping:
1/2 C Veganaise (Follow Your Heart brand)
1t apple cider vineager
1/4 t dill, parsley, onion pwd, garlic pwd
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Mix all ingredients for Ranch and refrigerate until needed.
• Saute your Chick'n strips in the butter until fairly crispy.  Remove from heat and add hot sauce in a cool bowl (do not heat the add hot sauce to fry pan or it will smoke you out!)

Serve Hot Vings with Ranch on the side and celery sticks if you like.  This recipe is a favorite of Green Earth Grill customers!

Can also serve in a tortilla w/ organic shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes, gourmet street food!

Photo is of Green Earth Grill's Hot Ving Wrap:

Green Earth Grill, Vegan Street Food

It's been about 2 months since my last post.  I hope to share with readers my  enthusiasm of the new project that has taken up so much of my time lately (as if 2 small children isn't enough of a reason to be busy.)  As you may have guessed by now, I have a strong desire to share with others the benefits of living a plant based lifestyle.  Even being a vegetarian for 14 years,  only in the last 2 years have I become a vegan and activist.  The issues that have demanded this change in me are the same ones that will eventually demad it from all of us  for they are pressing, dire and abundant, however... I have found that it's so much easier to share these harsh details with people while also presenting them with the delicious and exciting solution: vegan food!  Enter: Green Earth Grill, Vegan Street Vendor Cart

Doesn't it look awesome!  This photo was taken at our Grand Opening at Sawyer Point's Earth Day Celebration, April 18, 2009.  The menu was: Vegan Hot Ving Soft Taco's (a veganized version of a buffalo wing wrap), Vegan Meatball Hoagies and Consession Style Nachos with Vegan Cashew Nacho Cheese.  

The feedback was amazing!  The Grill will be serving the Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio areas throughout the Spring and Summer, more infomation can be found at the website: www.greenearthgrill.com