{"id":212536,"date":"2025-12-26T22:01:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T22:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/212536\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T22:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T22:01:11","slug":"driver-stops-to-pick-up-trash-and-finds-feed-bag-with-someone-zip-tied-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/212536\/","title":{"rendered":"Driver Stops To Pick Up Trash And Finds Feed Bag With Someone Zip-Tied Inside"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, a driver cruising through Southwestern Michigan to visit family saw a bright yellow bag on the roadside. Annoyed that someone had littered, she pulled over to pick up the trash.<\/p>\n

To the driver\u2019s horror, she discovered a large feed bag tied shut with twine. It had a few holes in it \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t empty.<\/p>\n

West Michigan Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Inside was a live owl, a zip tie wrapped around one foot.<\/p>\n

The woman left the bag open and encouraged the owl to fly away. When the animal didn\u2019t move, she assumed the traumatized bird was dehydrated. She gave her some time to perk up, but the owl\u2019s condition didn\u2019t improve.<\/p>\n

Finally, the driver called the West Michigan Wildlife Center<\/a> and delivered the owl into their care.<\/p>\n

West Michigan Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Right away, rescuers gave the bird, who turned out to be a great horned owl, fluids and pain medication. They carefully removed the zip tie, which had cut off circulation and caused her foot to swell.<\/p>\n

West Michigan Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was allowed to rest in a dark, quiet place while the pain medications took effect,\u201d Allyson Swanson, executive director of West Michigan Wildlife Center, told The Dodo. \u201cOnce the pain meds were on board, we began our thorough exam and started treatments on the foot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swanson says it\u2019s too early to tell whether the owl\u2019s foot is permanently damaged, but the director is grateful the bird arrived when she did: Not only did her foot need immediate attention, but the owl is blind in one eye.<\/p>\n

Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center<\/p>\n

These injuries would make survival difficult for a raptor, who usually has remarkably good vision in almost total darkness.<\/p>\n

Luckily, West Michigan Wildlife Center is partnered with Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center<\/a> in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Swanson sent the great horned owl to their facility, where volunteers were able to monitor her 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Since she arrived at Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center, the owl\u2019s condition has improved dramatically. She receives foot soaks and eye drops regularly.<\/p>\n

Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the medications she is on keeps her calm,\u201d Swanson said, \u201cbut we can still tell she has a feisty spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

West Michigan Wildlife Center reported the owl\u2019s mistreatment to the Department of Natural Resources, but no information about an investigation has been released yet.<\/p>\n

Despite her difficult journey and the odds stacked against her, this great horned owl is on the upswing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d like to think that so many people working together for her is giving her the best chance,\u201d Swanson said, \u201cand we will see a positive outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to keep up with the owl, you can follow her progress on Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>.\"Rare<\/a>Rare Animal Rescued From Traffickers Undergoes Risky Procedure To Save Her LifeAgainst all odds, she kept fighting. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this month, a driver cruising through Southwestern Michigan to visit family saw a bright yellow bag on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[110614,1285,110613,61,60,110611,110612,3530,82,1284,1282,263,57534],"class_list":{"0":"post-212536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animal-trapped-inside-bag","9":"tag-daily-dodo","10":"tag-great-horned-owl","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-owl","14":"tag-owl-rescue","15":"tag-sarah-ashley","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-standard","18":"tag-the-dodo","19":"tag-wildlife","20":"tag-wildlife-rescue"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}