THE RECORD (Kitchener, Ontario) 31 May 05 Keeping turtles in their shells; Kitchener woman scoops reptiles off road to help ensure survival (Bob Burtt)
It's been a year since the surgery, and Dr. Chris Murfin is examining the pins and wire he used to keep Steel's shell together. Steel is a painted turtle brought to Kingsdale Animal Hospital in Kitchener after being hit by a car last year.
His shell was badly crushed during an unsuccessful road crossing in North Dumfries. The back of the shell was torn and a fracture extended through most of it.
Steel was rescued by Angie Schoen and taken to Murfin.
"He looks good," Murfin says as he examines his patient. "Weight's good. He certainly looks healthy otherwise."
The vet decides the shell requires some fibreglass and acrylic -- not a big job for someone who repairs boats but a little out of the ordinary for an animal hospital.
"As a rule I don't see many reptiles, just the ones Angie brings in."
Angie is Angie Schoen -- the founder of Turtle Haven, a one-woman effort to rescue and care for injured turtles.
When Steel's shell is entirely healed, the turtle will be returned to nature.
Until then, he remains a guest at Turtle Haven, Schoen's Kitchener home, where he feasts on canned tuna, dead and donated goldfish and commercial food that Schoen buys.
Schoen, a part-time worker at Zehrs, regularly patrols roads in the region where turtles are known to cross.
Over the past 10 years she has rescued more than 100 turtles, cared for them and then released them back to their natural home.
It's common for turtles to be run over crossing roads in the region's rural areas. This is, in part, because roads have been built through or near wetlands.
"They are being killed in great numbers," Schoen says. "Of the eight (kinds of) turtles native to this area, six are threatened or of special concern."
All the more reason, she says, for people who do hit one not to assume that the accident is fatal.
Schoen has organized several places where turtles can be dropped off and attended to.
Those places include Kingsdale Animal Hospital, 2848 King St. E.; Windrush Animal Clinic, Burford; Preston Animal Clinic, 1606 King St. E., Cambridge; University of Guelph Small Animal Clinic, Guelph, 823-8830; Waterloo West Animal Hospital, 414 Erb St. W. Waterloo.
All of the above clinics have agreed to care for the turtles free of charge.
Turtles can live for 25 to 30 years but most don't these days, Schoen says.
It isn't unusual for her to find three or four injured turtles when she makes her patrols.
Sometimes people, trying to be helpful, take a turtle off the road and back to where it came from. This doesn't help.
"They are on the road because they are going someplace and they'll keep trying to cross," Schoen said.
She persuaded Waterloo Region to post turtle-crossing signs last year, but the signs, with yellow backgrounds and black turtles, were popular with vandals and thieves. Nine out of 10 were stolen.
More signs are being installed to designate turtle crossings.
But the region has already warned Schoen that if these signs vanish, she'll have to pay both the cost of making and installing the signs. Until now, the cost was shared.
For more information, visit the Turtle Haven website at www.turtlehaven.org. Schoen can be reached at 745-4334.