By Tim Binnall
The staff at a British animal hospital got quite the chuckle when a kindhearted woman brought in what she thought was an injured baby hedgehog that turned out to be a bobble from a winter hat. The weird 'rescue' reportedly occurred last week when the unnamed woman spotted what appeared a downed creature on the side of a road. Concerned for its safety, the animal lover dutifully scooped up the suspected baby hedgehog with a box and brought the critter home with her, where (as seen below) she provided it with some cat food and a warm place to rest.
When her animal ward did not touch its food nor go to the bathroom after several hours, the woman grew even more concerned and decided to bring the creature to the Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital in the community of Chester. When veterinarian Janet Kotze received the box containing the furry patient, she quickly realized that it was, in fact, the bobble from a winter hat rather than a baby hedgehog. Upon learning of the misidentification, the surprised woman simply replied "you're joking! Oh my goodness, how did I do that?"
While the woman did not wind up rescuing a baby hedgehog, Kotze credited her with having a "heart of gold" and doing exactly what the animal hospital recommends one should do if they find such a downed creature. "She did everything so well," the vet marveled, noting that once the perceived creature was contained in the box, the animal lover "barely peeked at it, because she didn’t want to stress it out," which would also seem to explain why she did not notice its true nature.