Christmas is not just about giving and receiving gifts. It’s also about simple generosity and helping those less fortunate. Sometimes that’s a person who’s down on their luck but in this case, it was an injured animal.
On Christmas Eve 2014, Kevin Harvey of Missouri was doing some last-minute shopping. He wasn’t alone: there were plenty of other procrastinators who were dashing from store to store, scrambling to find gifts for everyone on their lists. Santa Claus himself was probably there, too! His shopping finally done, Harvey was pulling out of the parking lot when he saw a car pulled over by the side of the road with a few people standing around gawking at the front bumper. Although eager to get home to wrap everything, Harvey decided to stop and see what was going on. The car had hit what appeared to be a medium-sized dog and the poor animal was now wedged in the leaf guard. Always a friend of animals, Harvey delicately extracted the animal, wrapped it in his coat, and headed to the nearest veterinarian’s office.
It didn’t take the vet’s office long to determine that this was a coyote, not a dog! They put a muzzle on her and then had Harvey take her to the Wildlife Rescue Center, where wildlife rehabilitation specialists could give the coyote proper treatment. After one more car trip — so much for wrapping those presents — the coyote was in the able hands of the Wildlife Rescue Center’s staff and volunteers. Although stunned, the coyote was in miraculously good condition: she’d suffered some soft tissue damage and deep cuts on her paws. No fun, but not so bad if you’ve just been hit by a car. The good news is that the coyote’s wounds healed nicely and after just a month, she was ready to be released to the wild.
Check out the video we’ve posted below and let us hear your thoughts in the comments at Facebook. Be sure to like and share, too!
https://youtu.be/0jvX7ePDTB8
