A vet who helped a crow fly again after it suffered a fractured wing has said he feels he “truly made a difference” because the bird keeps returning to visit him.
The crow was taken to Portsmouth Vets for Pets practice owner Dr Justyn Loveridge after it was found by a member of the public.
An X-ray showed it had fractured a bone and Dr Loveridge assessed that the wing could be repaired and the bird rehabilitated with a couple of weeks of care.
So he checked with his fiancee that she would not object to him bringing the crow home to care for it.
He said: “I called Sally, my fiancee, straight away to ask if I could bring the crow home, but I already knew she’d say yes; we both love animals.”
They decided to name it Morrigan, after the goddess of war in Irish mythology, who is known for her strong character and presence and is often depicted as a crow.
Dr Loveridge said: “Crows are omnivores, so I bought a mix of everything: insect mix, peanuts, chopped tomatoes, and even blueberries, which were a firm favourite with Morrigan.
“Obviously, with the lack of exercise, I was concerned about potential weight issues, so we kept portion sizes minimal to avoid overfeeding.”
He said that after two weeks, Morrigan had recovered, and they released it from its crate in the garden and the bird flew away.
But Dr Loveridge said he was surprised when Morrigan kept returning to visit.
He said: “There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that crows are just as clever as primates. Knowing that an intelligent animal keeps coming back to visit makes me feel like I’ve truly made a difference.”
Dr Loveridge said he was inspired to become a vet by a grandmother who was also an animal lover and rehomed stray cats, and he went on to open his Vets for Pets practice in 2012.
