Brewster

Name: Winner of a "Name the Barred Owl" contest in RROKI’s newsletter, News from the Mews
Date in: 05/05/99 (Bird #99-66)
Hatched: Spring 1999
Gender: Male, because of his small size
Age at arrival: approximately 1 month
Came from: Brandenburg, KY

Story: Brewster came in as a chick and was placed with our foster mom, Bo. However, it was soon noticed that Bo, who was already caring for three other Barred chicks, was ignoring Brewster. Closer examination revealed that his eyes, which should have lost their cloudy blue color when he was 2-3 weeks old, were still cloudy at 10 weeks. At that time he was examined by a pediatric optomologist and determined to be blind in both eyes due to congenital cataracts. Federal law requires that blind birds that cannot find their own food may not be used for education and therefore must be euthanized. The volunteers at RROKI were quite distressed to discover this and pleaded that Brewster’s life be spared. The director gave the bird two weeks to find its own food. Against all odds, Brewster did manage to gain weight -- a clear indication he was eating. It was not until months later that it was divulged that the volunteers had been sneaking food to Brewster. After a follow up eye-check, it was found that Brewster’s vision had cleared slightly, enabling him to truly find food on his own. Ever since, he has served as an education bird at RROKI. Brewster spent the first few months with the temporary alias of D.W. for racecar driver Darrell Waltrip whose car number was 66 (Brewster’s rehab ID number). It was not until later that he received his permanent name.