Trooper saves injured seagull from middle of freeway
BLAINE, Wash. -- An injured seagull trapped in the middle of a busy freeway was saved by a Washington State Patrol trooper, then got to go along for a ride as the trooper tried to catch a bad guy.
The call came into dispatchers on July 30 that there was a large bird in the middle of I-5 in Blaine, about 1/4 mile south of the Canadian border, Trooper Keith Leary said.
When Trooper Bart Maupin arrived, he found a seagull with an apparently broken wing sitting in the middle of the road, waiting for help to arrive.
Maupin was able to get the seagull into the backseat of his patrol car and was taking the injured bird to the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Deming, all the while warning the seagull that next time, it'd be best to try to make it to the shoulder or tree branch to await assistance.
However, the seagull got an impromptu ride along as while they were en route, Maupin got called to assist another trooper who had a pulled-over driver run from him.
Maupin helped surround the area until the man was caught, then brought the seagull to the rehab center for treatment.
A spokesperson for the rehab center said the seagull's injuries were quite severe and they had to euthanize the bird.
The call came into dispatchers on July 30 that there was a large bird in the middle of I-5 in Blaine, about 1/4 mile south of the Canadian border, Trooper Keith Leary said.
When Trooper Bart Maupin arrived, he found a seagull with an apparently broken wing sitting in the middle of the road, waiting for help to arrive.
Maupin was able to get the seagull into the backseat of his patrol car and was taking the injured bird to the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Deming, all the while warning the seagull that next time, it'd be best to try to make it to the shoulder or tree branch to await assistance.
However, the seagull got an impromptu ride along as while they were en route, Maupin got called to assist another trooper who had a pulled-over driver run from him.
Maupin helped surround the area until the man was caught, then brought the seagull to the rehab center for treatment.
A spokesperson for the rehab center said the seagull's injuries were quite severe and they had to euthanize the bird.
This could have been an extremely dangerous event. Different drivers do many different things, some would slam on their brakes, some would swerve attempting to avoid, some would line it up and speed up. Any of these actions could cause a serious accident, and at freeway speeds could cost lives. Glad the officer got the bird out of the road before one of these things happened. By the way it is not worth risking your life, your family, or someone else's life to miss a bird.
I was laughing about the officer giving the seagull a warning about the next time -- until I learned that the bird had to be euthanized. In view of the bird's fate, I think the author's attempt at humor was misplaced.