Leigh’s Lost and Found: how the community came together to save an injured wild animal

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - In today’s Leigh’s Lost and Found, a wild rescue with a happy ending.

Kim Marple wasn’t at all prepared to take on this unusual kind of rescue, but with the help of the Leigh’s Lost and Found community, it turned out to be a successful one.

“Oh my goodness, big yawn.”

Yep, that’s an injured groundhog, in a crate, in Kim’s Springfield living room.

She tells us, “we can’t just leave it there. We know it’s hurt and it needs help.”

Kim’s daughter saw the little guy on a Willard street, bloody and helpless.

“I picked him up in a blanket, put him in a box and brought him back to my house.”

From there, Kim wasn’t sure what to do, so she reached out for help.

“I immediately thought of Leigh’s Lost and Found because it’s a huge network of animal lovers and experts in different animal care. Almost immediately people were reaching out and telling me suggestions of things to do.”

Since this rescue happened on a weekend, no specialized vet center could get Kim in until Monday, so she took those Facebook suggestions.

Kim told us, “this lady named Georgia told me what to get to feed him. I wiped his nose and mouth off and tried to run cold water to see what the extent the injuries were.”

Her healing touch started working on the animal Kim named Ferb.

“He let me pet him, I brushed him with a furminator, I picked ticks off him and he really bounced back. On Monday, when Sunshine Animal Hospital opened up, I called and ask if they would please help me with him. The biggest thing was to make sure that nothing was broken.”

Ferb’s x-rays came back clean and Kim knew it was time to let her new friend go.

“Today is his freedom day.”

Kim found a nice spot at Rutledge Wilson farm, brought some carrots and kale, and set Ferb free. Kim says some people will think she’s a little crazy, but she doesn’t mind at all.

She says, “kindness is never wrong and it pays off tremendously. I would do it again, I will do it again. That’s just who I am.”

If you need to submit a lost or found animal of any kind, click on the link below to the Leigh’s Lost and Found facebook page.

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