Kenny's Story

Chapter 2

I then realised as I moved that I was in a car again, going back to Les Monts Hedgehog Rescue. I could move my jaw, but it felt sore. As I moved I heard Chris say ‘hello Kenny, on our way home, you will soon be able to eat & recover. Hopefully we will get you back on your feet given time.’

25th April I had gained weight back up to 815g & was praised & from the 26th April I slowly gained weight daily. I still had a daily cuddle & yet became more independent with my feeding. By 2nd May I have reached 1,000g! Able now to feed myself from the shallow bowl, I certainly love my food & was happy. The 9th May saw me weigh in at 1230g. Chris gave me a smaller bowl of food in the evening when she did her rounds, as usual all my bowls were empty. She did say we shall have to watch your weight Kenny, you are recovering well, but with limited exercise you are getting a bit on the heavy side.

I gained weight & Chris spoke to me about my own run being built. A safe place to be outside in the fresh air, with a small pond as I was virtually blind, that would have a beach side, sloping for easy access in & out. . A place with bushes for protection, flowers in pots to attract insects & bees, grass & I even had my own Christmas tree planted. Such a diversity of colours & textures I was assured. 

Chapter 3

I received pain relief to help me feel comfortable & the bond between Chris & I grew strong. A couple of weeks passed & Chris wanted to check how much damage had been done in the accident. My head had taken a huge knock to create a fracture of the skull. It was a warm day & after the rescue was all cleaned out & the lovely volunteers had left, Chris came & took me out onto the lawn. The smell of the newly cut lawn filled the air & I sniffed, breathing it all in. Then I had a little walk, my legs moved easily enough, but I was walking round in circles. Chris moved away & called to me. I could hear her, but could not get closer. I froze not understanding what was happening. I was picked up gently & Chris explained that my brain had been damaged in the accident. Don’t worry she said, you are not the first hedgehog I have had to teach to walk again: my first long term one was called Harry. He had a dreadful strimmer injury & he had to learn to walk in straight lines again. We will make a start today & continue over a few weeks. Remember you need to exercise your legs also, now listen to my voice & feet.

Then Chris stopped coming, volunteers were cleaning the hutches & giving us fresh food & water. I could hear two primarily & they were quite solemn. No joking or general chatting, just doing the necessary. I hoped all was ok, but thought it odd that I didn’t hear either Chris’s voice or footsteps.
After a few days I stopped eating my food: where was she; what has happened?

I began losing weight, I was not happy; I stomped around making a right mess of my hutch. Where was my special friend? Why had I been abandoned? What had I done? I was picked up with heavy duty gloves, gently enough but I wanted Chris!

Chapter 4

Unknown to me Chris had had the most terrible accident. She was in hospital undergoing quite major surgery. Whilst walking her pet dogs & two that were boarding, she had been quite accidentally pulled over, slipped on a wet metal grid & fallen breaking her right ankle in three places (yes every bone) & dislocating her ankle as she went down. Luckily a volunteer was with her & two local postmen were close by & very kindly helped. Chris phoned whilst on the floor for an ambulance, knowing she had broken it. She had no idea of the extent of the damage & felt sure once in hospital it would be plastered & she would return home that evening!

Over an hour later, an ambulance arrived, & took Chris into hospital. In the meantime she had also phoned her son, who before the ambulance arrived was on the scene. It was raining & a lady across the road from where Chris had fallen; came over with a pillow & asked how she could help. She stayed with Chris, whilst the postmen helped Pam a volunteer & good friend took all four dogs back home. Matthew, Chris’s son, took over at home. He drove home to get some clothes etc. returning & stayed to look after the dogs, but had to go to work as well. Pam took over the rescue & Chris was in hospital for some days as her ankle was too swollen to be operated on. Volunteers pulled together & between them with Pam guiding the ship, we were all looked after. Still unaware, I was unhappy & would barely eat enough to keep my energy up. I sulked & gave the volunteers quite a headache. 

Then friends David & Diana came & asked Chris if they could take the dogs home to give Chris a break from worrying about arranging walks, feeds etc. Pam worked with Chris in the background for advice & to oversee things. Rotas were made up & most days there were volunteers to help do the cleaning & feeding. I was carried in daily to have a brief cuddle & relaxing again, knowing Chris was around, I continued to gain weight. Life was good & over the months Chris started using crutches & eventually was able to start to weight bear & even progressed to using walking sticks. I cannot have been easy trying to carry bowls, especially of water & food when using crutches &/or walking sticks.

Builders came & a volunteer’s father had kindly donated time to dig out foundations. Walls were built in preparation for the new run promised for me, a pond was also dug with a sloping, beach type side. Chris had bought large beach pebbles, cement & sand before her accident. She managed somehow to lean against the wall, made small amounts at a time of cement & lined the beach slope with cementing in the pebbles. Not only decorative, but a safety factor for me when the water is in.

Chapter 5

The rescue is totally self-funded & to help raise funds an Open Day was being held. Chris’s back garden was decked with a marquee, lots of tables, an array of treasures to buy, refreshments, cakes, Tombola, Crafts & so much more. This memory is a little out of context because the back bedroom & Chris’s kitchen had been home for the hutches, the rescue in fact & many volunteers no longer with us, primarily for health reasons will remember that.

People were flooding in, things were buzzing & because we were inside Chris’s bungalow she could not let people to come in, however a lady had expressed an interest in becoming a volunteer. Pam was talking to her & very kindly brought her inside to show her briefly around. Horrified with what she found she raced back into the kitchen where Chris was calling to her that there was a leak. Water was pouring from somewhere into a top cage. Chris came in wearing a concerned frown, which immediately turned into a huge smile. Pam was appalled; water was running down the cubes.

The day continued & was quite successful from what I heard, so many hedgehogs were in, Chris needed all help she could get, and I know the costs were spiralling. To overwinter a hedgehog, if only one lot of medicines are needed it costs between £200-£300 per head: Bedding, food, meds & if you add in a little for electric for heating, cleaning materials etc. Although Chris pays for the electric & water (metre) personally. In rescue hedgehogs put on so much weight, which is why Chris will not release any until every individual hedgehog is not only well up to a very good weight, but Chris is happy that they are also mature enough to cope outside. Various skills are taught in the rescue, alongside introducing us to a variety of foods. Babies are bottle fed, weaned & introduced to a variety of foods to ensure we are able once released to hunt out enough food, know how to build a nest & so much more. 

I hear Chris training volunteers & explaining why certain things are done in the way she does them. Also why different bedding materials are introduced to us & why foods are introduced in the way they are & that each of us has a clip board. The clipboards contain a daily record of our weight, food we eat, & what we pass. Our weight & ‘poop’ give the best clues to Chris if there are any concerns.

She is well experienced & qualified to know if any changes need to be made or medications needed. Sometimes she puts samples under the microscope checking for an excess load of parasites. Much like humans we need a small amount, but an excess can make us very ill. The sign outside the hospital reads Hedgehog Hotel, & rightly so. We are so lucky to be looked after so well by the team. 

Chapter 6

Chris was pushing herself, many volunteers were unable to continue for a variety of reasons & still in a wheelchair primarily, life was hard, but she kept going. Some days no help was available & the wheelchair would not go through the doorway to the back bedroom. On her knees I saw her coming determined to ensure we were still looked after. Amazingly we did not suffer in any way.

Chris had to do a little at a time as weight bearing was painful & was very pleased when a fairly newish volunteer turned up to help. Nicky helped to complete the beach path out of the pond. Chris so wanted to get plants in, but had to take it steady & limit herself to little & often. By now I was able to walk in straight lines, Chris taught me to remember the feel of grass, stones, etc. as I trod on them. The weather was extremely wet & I remained in the indoor cage, Chris told me that the ‘new hospital’ was almost ready to be opened & a very famous local author, a lovely lady called Rosie Goodwin had not only agreed to be our Patron, but had also agreed to open the hospital. In preparation the bank of Vet cages, beautifully created by Steve from Poltec, had been moved from Chris’s spare bedroom into the new heated hospital.

The day of the official opening was drawing close & Chris had not quite managed to complete the hedgehog run promised for me. Many plants had been added & Beverly another volunteer who helped organise Fundraisers had been across to help Chris. She had kindly donated two large pots & bulbs to add to the plants Chris had bought to add colour & to also define for me the start of the slope into the pond & the far end which in turn was a corner near to the gate for Chris to come in & out of to attend to grass cutting, weeding etc. Beverly also kindly potted them up, Chris as a keen gardener always had potting compost around as she grew many flowers & plants from seed. The small greenhouse was full of cuttings & seedlings, but many had not survived without Chris’s care & watering.

I was excitedly informed by Chris that the run was looking good, but the weather had been extremely wet & had held up the laying off the turf. Some donated was just sodden & needed replacing as the drainage outside seemed to not be working. Chris said she could not put me out until she had sorted the problem & was sorry but said it may be necessary to over winter me in a hutch for safety & warmth. However, some new even larger hutches had been adapted & I was told I would have plenty of space for a bed & more room to move around freely that would also contain my food & water. 

Chapter 7

I started to walk around my large hutch a little, my diet was barely noticeable as Chris cut the food down very gradually. The wet food was down & the dry food increased. On 6th March my weight was down to 1,780g. A little more respectable Chris said.

On the 23rd March I weighed 1,723g & was introduced to Snowflake. Chris didn’t know, although she guessed, we had been chatting over night when the humans were in bed. Snowflake is an Albino hedgehog, only one in 10,000 are born Albino. A very special lady indeed. She had come in from the vets where she had been taken in with a badly damaged leg. She had been inside the hospital for some time as she needed her wound ‘dressing’ & antibiotics given by Chris. As an Albino, being different she had been attacked & would not talk about it. However, she was very bossy & set me about sorting the nest, not eating so much & more. We had been given fresh hay & although I say it myself, I am very good at nest building. Even Chris had commented to that effect. Eventually Snowflake was happy & we settled down to rest, cuddled up quite close.

Chapter 8

Chris popped in on her rounds to check all was well with everyone. Only a couple of hedgehogs needing their food dish or water bowl topped up. Some in their rush to eat often got their towels in the water bowl which mopped up most of the water. The smaller ones in the hospital would have caused Chris more work as they were too young to wait until night time to eat & the minute the food was in the cages they would eat immediately. All was of course recorded so Chris knew exactly which ones had eaten etc. As mentioned every hedgehog has its own clip board with an individual medical record.

Happy that Snowflake & I were going to be ok; she knows her hedgehogs well, she called goodnight to all & went back inside after locking the shed. Soon she had promised, your run will be ready & a lovely double size house was specially being made. The weather is getting warmer & Spring almost here. I felt so content, I cannot recall feeling happier: warmth, a comfy bed, good food & now my very own special hedgehog girlfriend. I had fallen in love!

Snowflake & I got to know each other well over the next few weeks & Chris spent every minute she could preparing the hedgehog run. Bushes to run under, grass to play on, a small pond to drink &/or take a quick dip in. A diversity of colour, textures & bulbs were busting into life. The lawned area had had to be totally dug out as it was just a bog, no rain could escape as the left over sand & rubble had been compacted down so hard. Chris removed it all. Top soil had to be added after the heavy clay had been double dug, she was exhausted. Finally she replaced the turf with a few rolls & added finishing touches of ground covering plants & flowering bushes, including a beautiful yellow rose bush.

Our purposefully built house was placed on top of the very large slab that had been concreted in. The base lined with newspaper & lovely fresh hay had been compacted down for us to make our nest, keeping us warm on the nights which were on occasion still quite cold. A huge dog bowl had been purchased & filled with water & placed just outside the house & our dry food was to be scattered to make us walk around hunting for it. A donation of a moss covered igloo type house, not suitable for hogs made an ideal temporary feeding station for our wet food, stopping cats from helping themselves & keeping any rain off our food.

Finally it was ready & Chris was anxious to see how we would react. Oh boy, she need not have worried. It was a dream garden! Our own garden! Boulders had been placed at the far end of the pond to stop me wandering & falling in the deeper end without warning, two pots stood abreast the sloping entrance I was meant to use: marking it to leave me in no doubt as to how to enter the water gradually. Flowering water plants had been added to attract even more wildlife. The small bare walls had more hanging wall planters, filled with primroses, cowslips, trailing ivy & Aubretia. I walked around as Chris watched, explaining & naming things. I couldn’t see them clearly, just colours, but the smells were enchanting & I couldn’t wait to show Snowflake around our gorgeous garden later that evening. Day ran into night for me, I could barely tell which was which. I often walked around in the daytime &/or took a short dip in the cool water. How lucky are we I kept telling myself. 

We were weighed before finally being released into our run, it was 10th April 2020 & Snowflake was 1143g & I weighed in at 1643g.

Chapter 9

The weather was much warmer now, the turf had taken well, Chris had watered all to ensure all became established & topped up the pond at the same time. One sunny afternoon she came to tell me I was so good, that I was to have some pet fish. I was warned they were going to be released into the pond. I was quite excited, I had in the past swam in a larger pool & fish were living in it. They did not trouble me & Chris felt it would be a nice final touch to our garden. I was quite excited; the entrance was blocked temporarily as the fish had to float in their plastic bag to acclimatise to the temperature of the pond before release. The bag was left floating on the water; the sun was out so Chris had to cover the bag with a towel to prevent a greenhouse effect. After 15 minutes the bag was opened & some water from the pond went into the bag & some came out. The fish were gently placed in the pond by hand & allowed to swim around. The importance I was told of ‘acclimating’ the fish is because the outer membrane of the fish is so paper thin, that whatever the temperature of the water, is the temperature of the fish. Any sudden change could be fatal. Goodness, every day is a school day!

I felt so important as I was told I was responsible & that whilst Chris would feed them every day, I had to make sure they were safe. We had birds of prey around & I had to scare them off. My hearing was good, even though they were swift. I also had to scare off any stray cats that thought they may chance their luck! Chris did place a small section of wire mesh, high enough for me to swim under, but leaving the majority of the pond entrance uncovered.

Life was good & yet fundraising &/or visitors had become less frequent. I loved walking around showing off when visitors were shown round. It usually meant that another hedgehog had been brought in. Humans were suffering I was told, by a virus that was preventing gatherings. Volunteers whilst still in contact with Chris became less in number & I didn’t quite understand what was happening.  Chris was often alone & had less time to come & chat. She did her best to check on us & I would stand looking at her, listening to what conversation time she could spare.

Snowflake & I had the odd argument, she wanted children, but I felt I was too old. We were loving our cuddles, our life together. She is the boss though. If she felt the hay was a little flat, I was sent out & cut some grass with my teeth. I left some to dry just outside the house if the sun was out. Sometimes I just took it inside & Snowflake used the green grass. The smell of cut grass was heavenly. Chris saw me a couple of times & shortly after she apologised, came with the trug & cleaned the house out. We then were given totally fresh bedding, our weights were checked & we had a general once over. Fresh water & food were given daily of course & sometimes a volunteer would do this & chat to me, whilst ‘the boss’ was working indoors. I used to run & hide, but that was a natural instinct that had stayed with me. I knew we were safe, we had everything we needed.

The builders had returned & Chris explained we were to get new winter quarters to house the hutches for over wintering. The weather was getting cooler, the grass did not grow so quickly, Chris had to cut it with hand shears & she would leave me some. She had also changed the pots as the seasons developed. Always we had many birds & insects visiting. Some of the ground under the bushes had not been turfed to allow us to dig for our favourite food – earth worms. 

Chapter 10

We spent a wonderful summer out of doors. The garden run was glorious; lots of places to hide & explore. The plants were colourful attracting insects & birds. The bushes Snowflake explained were so varied in texture & colour. Chris regularly cut the grass & generally kept weeds at bay & took spring bulbs out & added pansies, primroses, wall flowers & many more in the pots. It meant I didn’t walk through them & their beauty was there for all to enjoy.

A wasted space started to take shape & a large shed type building was developed. It was as had been explained to be our new winter quarters. Replacing the shed & on completion the hutches were moved across. Much more room for Chris & the volunteers to work, but more especially for Chris with her ankle that she had broken, it was on the same level as the hospital. No more climbing over a small wall &/or a longer way round up the grass slope & across a long gravel path to the shed to attend to us. Little funds were left, so Chris met the bills knowing money would be needed for vet bills & meds over winter. The hutches were cleaned & once dry were filled with the puppy pads & newspapers for lining, then lots of fresh hay for our beds with a few sheets of scrunched up newspaper. 
I felt so important as I was told I was responsible & that whilst Chris would feed them every day, I had to make sure they were safe. We had birds of prey around & I had to scare them off. My hearing was good, even though they were swift. I also had to scare off any stray cats that thought they may chance their luck! Chris did place a small section of wire mesh, high enough for me to swim under, but leaving the majority of the pond entrance uncovered.

Hedgehogs are wonderful at building nests. Many volunteers were astonished at the tight balls made that covered the hogs. We tear newspaper with our teeth & dip it in the drinking water provided. We make what Chris describes at papier Mache type nests. In the wild we do not get disturbed, but in rescue we are weighed, even during hibernation to ensure we do not drop too much weight & we can become annoyed & hiss. Our first hibernation is the most dangerous. We have two types of fat; white & brown. Our white fat is like humans, it keeps us warm & our brown fat is what we survive from in hibernation. We wake & go to look for food & water if our reserves of brown fat drop to build it up again. Hence Chris & others like her will ask you to put food & water out throughout the winter. Babies born late are too small to manage to hibernate & with help from the public, some manage somehow to get through the winter. Many do not make it.

One amazing fact Chris tells her volunteers about pregnant hedgehogs who go into hibernation, just shows how evolved we are, is that if a pregnant female is ready to hibernate; she simply puts all on hold. As her body ‘closes down’ almost into a coma type situation, the pregnancy goes on hold. When warmer weather arrives & the hedgehog wakes, the pregnancy continues. Wonderful, but it can mean a mum cannot find enough food to feed herself & then feed her young. Again you can help save lives if food & water is available to her throughout the year.

With climate change hedgehogs do not now hibernate as in years gone by from end of October through until April, some older ones may stay in a Hibernacular (name for the place we nest) even waking, but just have a stretch & then go back to sleep, but research shows they now wake approximately every 10 days or so, sometimes even moving & making another nest/Hibernacular.
A mum with babies in the spring will often move nests. They carry the babies by the scruff (back) of their necks & if disturbed will leave babies behind. If they do not have enough milk for all of the litter, they can even deliberately abandon the smallest, to ensure the survival of the fittest. 

Sorry will get off my soapbox now & get back to the story. 

Chapter 11

Chris was keeping an eye on us as the weather was wet & she was concerned as Snowflake appeared to have lost weight. It was 6th November 2020 & Snowflake weighed in at 640g & I was 1339g. No messing we were back indoors in the new Annexe in a large family hutch giving us space to move around & a very large nesting area. Snowflake had been hibernating which Chris had guessed & from now on we would be kept a close eye on. 

Many rescues release hedgehogs in winter at 600g considering this is fine. Chris however tells me that as quickly as hedgehogs put weight on in a rescue, once out having to search for food, they lose it very quickly also & she would not release in winter time if a hedgehog was 850g & mature enough.
She firmly believes that weight is not just the factor for release & strongly recommends hogs are mature enough, able to build a nest, semi-hibernate & have built up enough brown fat. 

Each day we were cleaned & given fresh food & water. On 21st November our weights had grown to Snowflake 812g & I was 1501g. As the weather became colder Snowflake wanted to hibernate & was allowed to do so under close supervision. December passed & as the New Year arrived the weather colder, Chris was anxious as whilst food was being eaten daily she suspected, correctly, that I was ‘eating all the pies’. So on 8th January 2021 we were weighed, whilst I was a portly 1681g, little Snowflake was down to 649g. Immediately for her sake, we were moved into the large Outdoor One hutch in the garage, just outside the hospital. Extremes of temperature can be fatal, so we could not be brought inside straight away, but the garage was warmer as the condenser drier is in there & with having to dry towels for the hedgehogs in the hospital & a double glazed door, we were much warmer than in the Annexe with a wooden door that kept warping in the rain. Chris felt we should stay together as I of course could have easily managed. 

However, there were no spare hutches. The hospital was full, as indeed was the hutch we were to be placed in. Chris was confident that we would be on our best behaviour & two small Hoglets were not doing so well on their own; the hutch is very large & a nest was made in the opposite section to their nest area where normally food would be placed; Chris was quite happy guessing what would happen. A volunteer questioned whether we would argue. The following day we were all together in the nest, moving most of our nest into the main area. Snowflake had ordered me to move our hay & took over with the little ones. She lay close to them & snuggled in to keep them warm. I was sent to a corner, she was afraid I may lay on them. We were parents! Well as close as we would get. It was a strange feeling, Snowflake was constantly giving orders, and the babies seemed frightened of me. I distanced myself a little, eating as usual. The puppy food tasted good, much better than the adult food. I got a little carried away. 

On the 14th we were checked. Both the babies had lost weight, Snowflake & I had both gained. To be doubly sure Chris removed the babies & put them in the hospital where she could keep an eye on their daily progress. Snowflake blamed me for days: constantly telling me off for eating the food. I wouldn’t eat the adult food after & Chris has had to put me back on puppy food.  Often when hedgehogs (who sleep of course on our sides) when hibernating & returning to the foetal position, often, Chris has found prefer puppy/baby food.

Snowflake has settled down, Chris has put me on a diet & has sussed I love Calci worms as do most of the hedgehogs. She has stopped topping up the Natures Grub with them as there are plenty of other good things in there. I have also been warned if I ‘eat all the pies’ preventing Snowflake to eat & build up her strength, Chris will put me back outside in the Annexe. We have been together such a long time that I don’t think I would like that. Snowflake is quite strong & will stand up to me, I had best be on my best behaviour though. She sleeps during the day & I get hungry. Will I remain indoors or will be sent out to the Annexe.

We are now up to date. I hope you have enjoyed my story. I am not sure how Chris will entertain you now, but for the moment, bye everyone. xxx 
 
Oh oh; just had a look through the window whilst being cleaned out. Gosh it’s snowing quite hard. My am I glad we are not outside in this. Our run looks beautiful from in here, but would not want to be in it at the moment.  Chris has just told me perhaps supporters may like a little more insight to the workings of the hospital & she will post tomorrow before she starts Truffles Story, if Chris can write it as she is quite busy at the moment. If you could comment please as to any suggestions &/or questions you may like Chris to respond to. Chris has also asked me to thank William & Wendy for their help in the rescue today & Wendy specifically to thank for taking the majority of the washing most days. Chris also posted a picture of donations yesterday but didn’t mention a huge thank you to all for the towels, cleaning products (Katrina & Sarah) & Jane for the huge sack of Calci Worms. Oh boy I am licking my lips at the thought. William pictured is having great fun making snow ducks (like snowballs) ready to throw at whoever from the family dare join him outside. xxx