SOAP LAKE – Last week, Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry President Shawna Kluge assisted with transporting an injured bald eagle to Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. 

The rescue took Kluge three days, over 600 miles and resulted in her spending around $500 in funds she didn’t have to get the bird to the veterinary hospital.  

“The money used to save the bird was supposed to be for moving my cat buildings to the new rescue, but when faced with an animal, especially one as majestic as an eagle, that is in danger, I am going to prioritize that,” Kluge said. 

When the eagle arrived at WSU on Wednesday, he was placed into a facility and given pain medication and his testing began. The hospital realized after testing that he had an injury on the elbow of the wing. 

“Unfortunately, injuries at the joints for most wild animals are not able to be repaired,” Marcie Logsdon, WSU veterinarian in the exotics and wildlife department, said. “An elbow on a bird's wings is just so important for flight. Flight is their livelihood. If they can't fly, they starve to death.” 

Logsdon said there is no technology advanced enough for them to be able to fix an elbow injury for the bird to be released.  

“Even if we were to consider placing this friend in an educational facility or zoo or something along those lines,” Logsdon said. “Injuries at the joints tend to predispose these guys to chronic pain, even if we fix it as best we can. Pain-wise, they tend to have to deal with that for the rest of their life. As a young bald eagle, they would be kept for 50 or 60 years in captivity. So, 50 or 60 years of hurting would not be very kind. That's why, unfortunately, that friend was not a candidate for an educational placement or a permanent home.”  

The eagle was humanely euthanized Friday morning.  

“I feel good about it. I feel good about the whole rescue,” Kluge said. “I'm still deeply affected by the fact that he's no longer here. I mean, it just isn't probably because it was just a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I really wanted it to be different. But I do know for a fact that the bird is highly regulated. It's not like you can just choose to put it down without overwhelming evidence. I mean, I know all of that, but it's just hard.” 

Logsdon said she was very grateful for the work Kluge put in to rescue and bring the bird to WSU. 

“This is absolutely wonderful that people are willing to help provide transportation for these injured birds, because that's one of the things that we're really missing right now and in Washington state, is we don't have very many options,” Logsdon said. “We don't have very many options in the center of the state for Wildlife Rehab and so and so, you know, we can only treat the animals that are here, and so I can't treat any of them if people aren't able to and willing to bring them to us.”  

Logsdon said this is the sixth eagle they have helped this year, so far. She said one has been able to be released back into the wild and another one is still in her care.

Logsdon said she also appreciated how Kluge gave her a call prior to bringing the bird in.  

“That really helps us not only direct folks to the best place to take that animal, like what resources might be closest to them, but also helps us just check in and make sure that it is an animal, in fact in need of rescue or help,” Logsdon said. “In the springtime, there are a lot of healthy babies out there who are acting really silly and sometimes far away from mom. People checking in first helps us make sure that healthy baby bunnies, healthy baby fawns get to stay out in the wild with their mom, and the birds like that eagle, who really do need help, are making it into places where they can get some help, even if that help just is a nice, smooth and painless way out.”  

Kluge said that although the rescue didn’t end the way she had hoped, she is still grateful to have been a part of the attempt. 

“I am definitely proud that I was involved. I mean, even though it didn't necessarily go the way I wanted it to go, I am very proud,” Kluge said. “He didn't die alone. He had had meals. He had pain relief. He'd been down for a while. We knew that. Pioneer (Veterinary Clinic) said it wasn't a fresh injury, that he'd been down for a bit but (that) doesn't make it any easier. I'm learning that the more I rescue, the harder it gets when you have to say goodbye.”