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Mission accomplished

Veterinary student Cristina Rubio holds Sovah, a barred owl, outside Washington State University's Wegner Hall. Rubio was called to rescue the partially blind owl from his perch atop the building. Sovah has lived at the WSU Raptor Center since November.Veterinary student Cristina Rubio holds Sovah, a barred owl, outside Washington State University's Wegner Hall. Rubio was called to rescue the partially blind owl from his perch atop the building. Sovah has lived at the WSU Raptor Center since November. (Rajah Bose/Rajah Bose/ / The Spokesman-Review)
By Hannelore Sudermann hannelores@spokesman.com
Veterinary student Cristina Rubio holds Sovah, a barred owl, outside Washington State University's Wegner Hall. Rubio was called to rescue the partially blind owl from his perch atop the building. Sovah has lived at the WSU Raptor Center since November.Veterinary student Cristina Rubio holds Sovah, a barred owl, outside Washington State University's Wegner Hall. Rubio was called to rescue the partially blind owl from his perch atop the building. Sovah has lived at the WSU Raptor Center since November. (Rajah Bose/Rajah Bose/ / The Spokesman-Review)

PULLMAN – When veterinary student Cristina Rubio sat down to a late dinner Saturday, the last thing she had planned was rushing into a rainstorm to rescue a raptor.

But around 8 p.m., a partially blind barred owl had worked his way out of a leather leash on the way home from a presentation at a Boy Scout meeting. When his carrier door was opened at the end of the trip, he flew up into a tree. From the tree, he flew to the top of one building and then, to the dismay of a group of students transporting him, sought an even higher perch on Washington State University’s four-story Wegner Hall.

Unable to rescue him on their own and with the chief raptor veterinarian more than an hour away, the members of WSU’s Raptor Club called Rubio, who has experience working with wildlife. The first-year vet student put down her silverware, pulled on her shoes and headed out.

This wasn’t the first time Sovah has been rescued. The small bird, whose name is adapted from the Russian world for owl, was discovered last year on the side of a Whidbey Island road, apparently hit by a car. His injuries left him with only partial vision in both eyes, a problem particularly bad for owls, which rely on eyesight to hunt. “It’s a condition that gets worse as he ages,” said Nickol Finch, WSU veterinarian and instructor. “He’ll never be able to hunt on his own.”

So WSU has given him a home where he’ll lead a useful life educating students and members of the community about birds of prey and the natural and manmade dangers they face. The WSU Raptor Club works with injured hawks, owls and kestrels that live at the WSU vet school because permanent injuries prevent them from surviving in the wild.

The vets and technicians don’t think Saturday’s flight was Sovah’s great escape. It was a chance to follow instinct and stretch his wings. “He’s actually a pretty quiet bird,” Finch said. “He reacts well to being handled and goes to many presentations.”

He’s also a favorite in the raptor club.

Rubio and her fiancé, who have both been members of the club, scrambled into the building where the bird was perched and hunted for a way to the roof. They found a facilities worker who could get them to the top of the building.

Once on the roof, Rubio took charge. “I asked them to turn off their radios and stay back,” she said. Spotlighted by the officers’ flashlights, she walked sideways toward Sovah, crouching as she got close. “It’s so you don’t look as big,” she said. “I wanted to look less threatening.”

The owl was perched on the very edge of the roof and looking sad and damp. A leather strap called a jess trailed from his leg , within easy reach for Rubio. She put one arm out inviting him to perch and grabbed the jess with the other hand. Sovah, flustered and distressed, struggled and tried to fly. He wouldn’t perch, so Rubio grabbed his body and tucked him into her arm, holding him against her chest. She carried him that way as she scrambled off the roof and back into the veterinary hospital, where he spent the night.

The next day, he was examined for injuries that might have happened during the escape and rescue. “He’s fine,” said Finch, adding that the owl has been out for a community presentation this week.

As for Rubio, aside from a missed dinner and a dousing of rain, she’s gained some confidence working with wildlife and a sense that she has picked an exciting career. “Nights like that are really something. It’s probably the most adventure I’ve had.”