A Lynn Valley resident is calling for change after the rescue of a lad who survived a month or more with his head stuck in an ice cream cone. Mira and Bryan O’Connor and their neighbors around the Safeway in Lynn Valley Center started spotting the little guy walking around with his head stuck through a dome lid in August. “We’d watch that poor thing struggle,” Mira said. “We could really see the wounds opening.” They enlisted the help of the Critter Care Wildlife Society, a Langley-based nonprofit that rescues animals in need. But it wasn’t until Friday (September 17) night that a volunteer was available to help when the miscreant turned up again – this time with his leg also caught in the lid. Amazingly, they put the lad in a net and then wrapped him in a blanket without being sprayed, Brian said. “You could smell it a little bit in the air, but it was almost nothing,” he said. In any case, they were far more concerned about the animal’s welfare than any aromatic retaliation. “I know a lot of people are very afraid of being sprayed, because that smell can last a couple of days,” he said. “Skunks are pretty harmless in BC. The skunk was in terrible shape. It was thin rail and the month old wound had necrosis and maggots. Volunteer Cathy Canning drove the lad to Critter Care in Langley, where staff were able to give her the medical attention she needed. “We have the news. She is good. She was drugged. They cleaned the wound. They put a dressing on him,” Meera said. “They take care of her and she likes chicken. We were all so happy, like over and over.” Brian said the plight of the wrasse highlights the collateral damage that comes from littering. “When you litter like that, other animals suffer for it,” he said. Dome caps are particularly problematic, the O’Connors said. “Their head goes through the hole and then they can’t get out,” Mira said. “Once they’re stuck in this terribly stiff, hard plastic. This is. … It’s so hard, it cuts their body.” Mira said that anyone throwing away a domed cap should, at the very least, first remove it from the cup and cut off the sides, similar to what people often do with six-pack rings. But with single-use plastics such as straws and shopping bags being phased out of the market in many jurisdictions, the O’Connors say there is no reason why such potentially harmful caps should remain. Not everyone loves skunks, the O’Connors admitted, but they are part of urban wildlife and deserve our help, “We never want to see any creature suffer. We all have to share this space,” he said. Everyone in the neighborhood is now grateful for Critter Care’s help, they added. “It’s so amazing that there are people there to help,” Mira said, holding back tears.
