“Typically, when we get these calls ... it’s baby ducks; the mom will walk right over the grate and the little ducklings will slip through and get trapped,” Luckenbaugh said. “And we usually tend to get most of those during the spring. By now, they’re usually too big to fall through.”
Frederick County Division of Animal Control Officer Robert
Uttermohlen (kneeling) rescues a baby rabbit from a storm
drain with the help of city public works employees.
Photo courtesy of Richard Griffin
That said, Officer Robert Uttermohlen may have been a bit surprised when emergency dispatchers sent him to rescue a baby rabbit from a drain near the Panera Bread on Kingfisher Drive at about 1:30 p.m. Friday.
With a bit of help from city Department of Public Works employees, Uttermohlen was able to scoop the frightened animal up and out of danger and reunite it with two other juvenile rabbits that were found nearby, Luckenbaugh said.
All three rabbits were quickly taken to a more remote area and released, but not before several passers-by noticed the commotion, including Richard Griffin, the city’s director of economic development, who had stopped by the shopping center to eat lunch.
“He was the tiniest little wet thing you’ve ever seen in your life,” Griffin said with a laugh. “It was lovely. There were some people standing around watching, so when the rabbit came out and started hopping around, a little cheer went up.”
(fredericknewspost.com - Aug 18, 2017)
