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Photograph by Nancee Goldwater
    
The Baskin-Robbins' eye shields
kept the bird's  eyes comfortable.
The ointment put under them pre-
vented ulcers and scarring of  the
corneas.

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           One very ill Pelican!   The  bird  had  lain  on  mud  flats  in  Reno, Nevada
           for  5  days   during  one  of  our  hottest  summer   periods  in   July.    On
           admission, the  pelican  could   not  hold  its   head up;  the  eyeballs  were
           shrunken, dry  and  the  conjunctiva  was  swollen  and bright red.   Along
           with those  problems,  the  pelican  was  exhibiting  open-mouth breathing. 
           Emergency  care included  hydrating  the  bird  quickly  and applying  eye
           shields. For the shields, we used Baskin-Robbins' ice cream spoons as they
           had  the  correct  curvature  we  needed.  They  were held  in place by duct
           tape. For many days thereafter, we applied the ointment under the shields
           and into the eyes, as recommended by our M.D. Ophthalmologist.  With a
           great  deal  of special-duty nursing care the pelican recovered completely.
           Since  pelicans had already migrated from Nevada, we secured the proper
           "passport" papers  and took the  bird to  its California  wintering  grounds.

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