Veterinarians Remove Eye Of Rescued Young Squirrel With Glaucoma
SOUTHFIELD (WWJ/AP) — A rescued squirrel has successfully undergone an eye-removal surgery by Michigan veterinarians — thanks to the keen eye of another Detroit-area vet.
The four-week-old squirrel named Thelma was one of three found in a yard alone and brought to Dr. Laura Witherell at Birmingham-based Gasow Veterinary Hospital. She decided to try and raise them, rather than euthanize them, according to a news release.
When the baby squirrels opened their eyes, Witherell noticed Thelma had a problem. She sought help from veterinary ophthalmologists at Southfield's BluePearl Veterinary Partners, who diagnosed her with glaucoma and removed the right eye the animal couldn't see out of.
"I think if someone brought in any animal we would have an obligation to help that animal if we could," Dr. Michael West told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeill. "We're not in a position to discriminate and I think if we know the squirrel is uncomfortable and we can make her feel better, I think why not."
A third squirrel died, but Witherell tells the Detroit Free Press Thelma and another one named Louise are "thriving." She plans to release them this spring.
"Her recovery is actually going really well," West said. "Her biggest thing immediately after surgery was getting her to eat and once she was nursing on her formula we had a big sigh of relief."
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