I was picking up a few things at Mall Wart the other day and when I got back to my truck, I noticed a bird (I'm pretty sure it was a grackle, which is kind of like the avian version of a squirrel or rat - they tend to flock around the parking lots looking for scraps) that was stuck with it's foot in the crack between the hood and fender of the car next to mine.
I could see blood on the area beneath it, so I knew it was in trouble. I went over, and saw that it had broken it's leg from thrashing around trying to get loose. I tried to grab it's leg to pull it free, but it kept trying to peck me when I did. An older man at a car nearby saw what was happening and came over, and fortunately he was wearing gloves. He held the bird still while I worked the leg free from the crack.
We realized the leg was pretty much useless, as it was pretty much just hanging by skin, so I took out a pen knife I had to amputate what was left of it. A few younger guys had seen what was happening and had gathered around, and all of them gave a collective wince/groan as I cut it loose. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't help mentally calling them all wimps as they did.
The man holding it let it go and it flew off. The younger guys wondered if it could survive like that, but the older man pointed out that it lighted on a sign with no problem, and that there was another bird with one leg sitting on another sign close by.
I went back to the truck and felt like I had done something at least a little worthwhile, until later when I remembered the blood on the person's car, and realized I should have at least tried cleaning it off, especially since the car was white. There's no telling what they thought when they came back. It looked like two tiny people had a duel to the death on the hood of their car.
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