Mr. Audubon, The Turkey Vulture Capture

There are times when just a tiny bit of faith is all you have to hold onto.

It is a part of the beauty and meaning hidden in the tiny details of life.

If you forget to savor every second of life, and you get bogged down in the turmoil that mysteriously finds you even when you are just trying to keep busying staying afloat, then the days fly by and the years slip away. Seems when you need a few more minutes in the day you cannot find them, or they are stolen by the unexpected mishaps, like your car breaks down, your clients are especially needy, (and sometimes nasty), or you find that you have a turkey vulture in your barn that you thought was just loitering, but turns out has a broken wing and can't leave.

 
Yesterday was the day of a broken down car. “OK, honey I will pick you up at your co-workers tonight.”  (Minus the cost of one new fuel pump from the budget, yippee!).

And, “Why do I have to pay for a urinalysis? No one told me I had to pay for it!” The client phone conversation I had yesterday after her diabetic cat came in for lethargy. ‘Really? Did you think I was going to pay for your cat’s urinalysis?’ Was what I wanted to reply to her nasty yelling tantrum call (I didn’t, well only to you guys, not to her).

I informed my husband that we had a wild bird in need of help two days ago. He initially seemed flattered to be asked to help me save something, but when he questioned me on exactly "What kind of wild bird needed help?" and I had to confess that it was a "turkey vulture." He replied, "Oh, it’s just a buzzard, leave it alone, they stink."

"Honey, it has a broken wing, it is starving, and since when do you get to decide which species are worth saving, and which are not?"

He should know me well enough by now to know that I am going to help something regardless of whether he assists me or not. I’m not going to beg or argue with him. I’ll do it myself, get hurt, remind him it is his fault, and then coerce him into helping me. (So much faster to just say ‘OK’).

He gave up, and realized I was going to catch that big, bald, ugly bird with or without his help.

And so the plan was set;

· Get up early.

· Catch big, ugly, bald, bird. Safely.

· Send bird to be dropped off at BF Jane's practice, (with her consent and permission).

· Feel good about doing the right thing, and hope Jane doesn't ask me to take him back home for rehab care (because he is really ugly and stinky).

And so the day started with a slow wake up. There's no rush outside to capture a turkey vulture in an old uneven-footing, rusty nailed obstacle course. You need to wait for the sun to rise, so you can rodeo-capture a big stinky hissing bird.

As with every veterinary venture my husband and I partake in it is 75% preparation, 25% arguing, and 99% "he does it his way" regardless. It seems I am not an expert at anything he assists with. I promise you he has never caught a bird in his life, but ask to help you and he is Mr. Audubon.

The broken winged bird was corralled easily once I got my husband to slow his sheet-yielding terrorizing advance to a slow crawl.

In almost all cases of animal capture it is important to understand that animals have a 'flight distance'. This is the radius that as you approach they start to walk away. If you approach too fast and get too close they will run in the opposite direction. The objective of animal capture is always to be calm, careful, and not to hurt yourself or the animal you are after. This can often be dangerous as some animals will try to kill themselves in an effort to escape.

Often the biggest mistakes people make in attempting to capture an animal is that they go too fast and move too erratically.

For the turkey vulture we had to create a wide low barely detectable screen with sheets and approach slowly enough to be able to place the sheet over him without scaring him into trying to fly away, and/or further injuring himself.

We approached very slowly, (after multiple rapid approaches from self-proclaimed avian expert, who was hissed and squawked at) and eventually that vulture was at my feet and sitting still enough for me to drop the sheet on him.

The sheet was slowly and gently draped over his wings, being careful to hold the wings to their body and then wrapped around him to bundle him into a safely portable package. Into a laundry bag he went and it was loosely and firmly tied shut. Animals feel safer and will not injure themselves if they are in a dark quiet containment area.

A bird will try to fly and beat its wings against any object to try to free itself. Be gentle, be careful, and keep the wings safely tucked into their body and shield the talons and beak from any objects they can reach for, your body included.

For transport we placed the laundry sack in a cat carrier and secured it closed.

I then sent my husband to my dear friends’ clinic as she is very experienced in avian care.

I did remind him to "not open that carrier no matter what noise that bird made."

I got a call last night to update me on my birds condition. It seems he is a young (6-8 months old) and most likely he broke his wing up by the shoulder months ago. Apparently those young birds aren’t very proficient flyers so often they crash and brake bones. Because the brake is so old and has already healed it will be left alone and he will be sent to a rescue rehabilitation center. If he can’t be taught to fly and be released he will stay at the rehab facility to help educate students and the public.

I am very grateful to the highly skilled and dedicated staff at Fallston Vet in Fallston MD. And I am grateful he will be in a safe place that can take care of him and my husband for helping trap and transport our vulture.

Dr. Zantop

The Veterinary community lost a great Vet and an amazing Aviary medicine advocate and doctor. Dr. Zantop was co-owner of Fallston Veterinary Clinic. He specialized in Aviary medicine, was deeply respected by his staff, his collegues, and the entire pet loving community. He did a great deal of rescue work, especially for the rescue organizations in need of expert aviary medical care, but also served dogs, cats, and some pocket pets. I loved to hear the stories of the birds that were being cared for at his clinic. It amazes me to think of an owl, an eagle, a heron, etc, sitting in a cage next to the kittens, the puppies, and receiving their care just like, (ok, almost like), every other human-pet.


Dr. Long is the other co-owner of Fallston Vet. She is also one of my closest friends. Dr. Zantop's passing has really left the staff and her feeling like they lost a dear longtime friend. My heart goes out to his family, all of his staff, his clients, and his patients. I can't imagine how you even try to go on serving others when you are so distraught inside. I wish them all love and deepest sympathies.


Veterinarians are reminded on a daily basis how precious and short life really is. To be here for 59 years seems like it isn't long enough. To be so young, and to have worked your whole life and then pass so quickly and tragically is hard for me to fathom. My heart hurts for all of us. Dr. Zantop was a talented, respected, compassionate Vet, a loved husband, and an admired dad and boss, friend, and collegue. I toast to you, smile at the clouds, and kiss my pets in your honor. Thanks for all you did for all of us.






This is the obituary written for Dr. Zantop, in the Baltimore Sun: (there is also a photo of him in their article).


Dr. Donald W. Zantop, co-owner of the Fallston Veterinary Clinic who was noted for his avian rescue work, died Oct. 13 in a diving accident off Bald Head Island, N.C.
The Fallston resident, who was 59, had been collecting underwater fossils with friends when the accident occurred.
Dr. Zantop was airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., where he was pronounced dead.
The incident remains under investigation by the Coast Guard, according to news reports.
"My only consolation is that he died doing something he really enjoyed," said his high school sweetheart and wife of 39 years, the former Suzanne Merlo, who is hospital manager for her husband's practice.
"Don was a certified technical wreck diver … and had logged more than 800 dives," she said.
Dr. Zantop, who was born in Arlington, Va., and raised in Allen Park, Mich., had aspired to a veterinary career from the time he was 7 years old, his wife said.
He was an Eagle Scout, and after graduating from Allen Park High School, he enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. He later transferred to Michigan State University, where he earned his veterinary degree in 1976.
Dr. Zantop worked in a veterinary practice in Silver Spring for three years before becoming part-owner in 1979 of the Fallston Veterinary Clinic, where he specialized in treating small animals. He also was an avian and exotic animal practitioner.
"Don's death is so tragic. We go back many years to the early 1970s, when he came into the area not long after I started my career," said Dr. John E. Brooks, a veterinarian who is the former owner of Fork Veterinary Hospital and now manages Bel Air Veterinary Hospital.
"He had a strong affinity for avian medicine and was one of the pioneers … certainly in our area. He was the go-to guy in this field," said Dr. Brooks, who served as state deputy secretary of agriculture from 2003 until 2007. "He was committed to his community and veterinary community. He was the full package and the consummate veterinarian."
"Dr. Zantop was one of the 100 board-certified avian experts in the world," said Sharon Pfeiffer of Crofton, whose macaws, African gray parrots and cockatoos were cared for by Dr. Zantop.
"We were very lucky to have a vet like him in our area, and has been mine since 1997. He was just phenomenal. Some vets are good with animals and not people, but he was really good with both," said Ms. Pfeiffer. "He was a really good guy."
"He had a worldwide reputation as an avian veterinarian," said Dr. Greg Harrison, a veterinarian and friend of 30 years, who is also the founder of The Bird Hospital in Florida, and Harrison's Bird Food.
Kathy Woods founded Phoenix Wildlife Rescue in 1997, a Jacksonville, Baltimore County, nonprofit wildlife rescue organization.
"Don was the No. 1 … avian specialist in Maryland. He was a bigger-than life person who taught us our wildlife credentials, and that was more than 20 years ago. He was so damn smart," said Ms. Woods. "I was so inspired by him, and I wanted him to be proud of me when I was in the field. He was my hero and always treated me like a peer."
Since 2004, Ms. Woods has been state-certified to handle the recovery of injured bald eagles.
"He was the vet in Maryland who treated bald eagles. He'd do a $10,000 bald eagle surgery and only charge me 31 cents for the X-ray. He never charged us what he should have. He was always behind us and knew that we were a nonprofit," she said.
Dr. Zantop was the avian specialty exam chairman of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the Mid-Atlantic States Association of Avian Veterinarians.
For the last 35 years, he had been a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and was president of the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association and was secretary of the Maryland Veterinary Foundation. He was also a member of the Greater Baltimore and Harford County veterinary medical associations.
Dr. Zantop wrote widely on avian veterinary matters in the Journal of the Association of Avian Veterinarians and was a co-author of "Avian Medicine: Principles and Application."
In addition to Phoenix Wildlife Rescue, Dr. Zantop provided pro bono medical care at the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, Wildlife Rescue and the Carrie Murray Nature Center in Leakin Park.
"Don was truly what we all aspire to be. We're far better off for having him in our lives. He gave us so much in making us better people," said Dr. Brooks. "He also reminded us that life is so fragile."
In addition to diving, Dr. Zantop was an avid sailor and who enkoyed boating in the Chesapeake Bay as well as the Caribbean, Belize and Thailand. He also was a world traveler.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 28 at St. James Episcopal Church, 3100 Monkton Road, in Monkton.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Zantop is survived by his daughter, Ettienne H. Zantop, a junior at Salisbury University; his father, Harold Zantop of Martinsville, Ind.; his mother, Barbara Wray of O'Brien, Fla.; three brothers, Michael Zantop of Fort Lauderdale, David Zantop of Belleville, Mich., and Douglas Zantop of O'Brien, Fla.; and two sisters, Melissa Zantop of Littleton, Colo., and Melanie Zantop of O'Brien, Fla.


Dr. Zantop's obituary, a wonderful write up of his life.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-donald-zantop-20111020,0,6284627.story