Through the Storm

Our answer came before the question had time to settle. And then, Poppet. Even with warning, nothing prepares you for a life so diminished, yet still holding on. Not a newborn, but young enough to still belong beside her mumma. And there she had been found, in the water, clinging to what remained of her mother.

And Poppet’s body bore its own account.

Deep lacerations marked her small, chubby frame. They were crude and deliberate and at first glance, they spoke of a dog attack. But as we gently clipped and the wool fell away, the wounds were revealed in full and another story emerged.

This was no passing strike.

The talons of a bird of prey, most likely an eagle, had fiercely taken hold. Not once, but with intent. They had pierced and torn, leaving deep and now necrotic pockets beneath the skin. Her right ear and tail carried the worst of it. With her tail now broken, the wound was gaping, hot and clearly painful.

These injuries were not new. Which meant that long before she reached us, Poppet had endured this pain without relief, without refuge and without her mumma.

And still, she came through.

Now she stands shy and uncertain, but trying. Our hands are unfamiliar and our presence is something she measures carefully. Though she accepts the bottle, it is not with trust, but with need.

How she and her mumma ever came to be there, we may never fully know. But we do know this: at some point, their lives were held within human care.

And somewhere along that line, that care fell short.

Animals like Poppet do not choose their path. They do not decide where they go, or what they face. Their lives are shaped entirely by the systems we place them within and the attention, or inattention, we bring to them.

Poppet survived what should have ended her.

And now, little by little, another story is beginning.

She is still wary, watching and working out what kindness means. Still learning the shape of kindness. But each bottle accepted and each small easing of her body tells us she is beginning to believe the world may yet hold gentler things.

Because Poppet has already come through the storm.

Now, with the Pop Star crew beside her, may their bright little confidence help coax her back to the sun.