An owl hit by a car in Marysville was recovering Friday thanks to a fast-acting officer.
"This was the first time I'd ever seen one up close," said Marysville Police Officer Bryant Gerfin.
He was on patrol Wednesday night, driving down the highway.
"I see what looked like a small animal walking in the road," said Gerfin.
He pulled over, and first tried to get the owl to fly off.
"It wouldn't fly away," he said. "I realized its eye was a little puffy and it had some blood on it. I spent some time with it. It finally let me pick it up. I got it in the back of the car."
First thing in the morning, officer Gerfin brought the bird to Sarvey Wildlife Refuge in nearby Arlington.
"Feisty for a barred owl. Really feisty," said Wildlife Tech Kate Bouchard.
But that's actually a good sign.
"You wouldn't want him to be too friendly, too subdued. That could mean something is going on healthwise. So, I always like seeing more aggressive birds, even though it means I get bit more," she said.
Just today, Sarvey released another barred owl that had likely fed on a poisoned rodent. It's one of about 800 animals released there this year. This latest patient is undergoing a regimen of fluids and drops for his eye trauma, and it's possible he'll be added to the tally, but more likely he'll be one of the first of 2018.
In the meantime, the Marysville Police Department is having a little fun on Twitter, joking about its newest cadet, Owl Pacino, (good joke, guys) wishing him a speedy recovery.
