Her caregivers, who patronize the same large animal vet as Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter, brought the gravely injured duck to us hoping we could help. As broken as Olivia looked, we knew we had to try. Fortunately for Olivia, Farm Sanctuary shelters draw on 25 years of experience in rehabilitating severely injured animals.

We brought Olivia to our vets at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, who performed surgery to clean out the wound. Once she had recovered from her operation, Olivia returned to the sanctuary for two months of diligent treatment and wound management, undergoing her daily bandage changes and medication regimens like a champ and receiving lots of love from her caregivers.

All the hard work and attention paid off. Olivia is healed and beautiful, enjoying the outdoors and new friends — simply happy to be a duck. We are thrilled that we were able to give her the gift of this transformation. So many animals arrive at our shelters physically damaged by disaster, abuse, or neglect. Traces of their pasts remain — a scar, a limp, or a missing part. But with patience, kindness, and expert care, we can make their lives whole again.