Although we may not always understand the reason for survival or death, we can be thankful for the hands of those who have been trained to decide when an animal should be rehabilitated or put down. After reading the letter to the editor about Dr. Anderson, I had to reply and share with you the story that the Whidbey News-Times missed!

In the same week as we read about the eagle that had been put down by Dr. Anderson’s office, there was also another eagle that Dr. Anderson saved.

Thursday of the same week at 8:30 p.m., I called numerous people trying to find someone who could save this bald eagle we had found in our farm field. Obviously injured, I knew he would not survive through the night. I contacted Dr. Anderson and, without hesitation, he drove to Coupeville, captured the bald eagle and told me he would call once its injuries were assessed.

On June 6 at 7 p.m., my daughter, son and I watched in amazement as this eagle we had found injured in our farm field, had now been rehabilitated and was soaring through the air. Dr. Anderson and his staff assessed this eagle’s injuries, rehabilitated it and set it free in the same field where it was found. This was not our pet, we were not paying Dr. Anderson nor did he ask anything of us other than to see if we wanted to watch it fly on the day it was released.

Thank you Dr. Anderson for caring for this eagle and rehabilitating it and setting it free! My children and I will never forget this day.

Mary Engle
Coupeville