Dakota's Continued Recovery

Dakota's veterinarian, Dr. Waliszewski, went out of her way to complete his exams on site due to his extremely debilitated state.

Beginning the morning Dakota returned and through the first week after, Dakota received subcutaneous fluids twice a day along with a general antibiotic.

Beginning on his forth day of recovery Dakota began getting fluids orally to introduce calories slowly into his system so we could avoid putting his body into shock. Once Dakota was stable enough, solid foods were slowly introduced. He was thrilled!

Dakota's first pellets were an absolute joy for the staff and volunteers working with him! To find out why and more about pellets visit our blog post on pellets

Blood work was done multiple times throughout his recovery to monitor his health and recovery. His initial results showed that his kidney and liver levels were both elevated, proving his body’s debilitated state. With fluid administration staff was able to improve his blood values over time and slowly bring Dakota back to full physical health. Dakota had a lot of body weight to gain and did not reach his normal body weight until January 6^th, nearly a month after he was rescued. Once he reached his normal weight he was given the “ok” by his veterinarian to be moved into an indoor aviary to allow Dakota to move around more. From there, Dakota began moving outside during the day for enrichment, soaking up the sun and watching the outdoor environment around him. He has continued to come back into his indoor aviary at night.

After several weeks of around the clock care, Dakota was improved enough to show his face to the public and thank them for all of their caring and support.

It has been a slow process, but Dakota’s physical state has made a complete recovery. Dakota has been anxiously waiting to be able to say thank you in person for all the support he and his caregivers received during his whole ordeal. His first official reintroduction to the educational ambassador team at the Wildlife In Need Center happened March 3^rd at the UW-Waukesha theatre. We couldn’t have gotten through the tough times without that support. Thank you.