Published on June 16, 2020

Injured owl released after month-long rehab

By Ryan Richardson, Owensboro Times

A month ago, a Great Horned Owl was a few hours away from dying when it was found along a walking trail at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. It was released Friday afternoon after nearly four weeks of rehabilitation, soaring at full strength with wings spread wide as it returned home.

The owl was found by an employee on the grounds of the hospital, which is an Audubon Area Sanctuary. Landscaping supervisor Tim O’Bryan contacted Western Kentucky Raptor Rehab Center, and they came to retrieve the owl.

“At first we thought something might be broken, but nothing was broken,” said Kristin Allen, who runs the Rehab Center. “He was super thin. We treated him for some parasites and he started eating on his own. He wasn’t flying and then one day he just took off. It was beautiful.”

Grant Allen, Kristin’s son, was the one who captured the bird. He was also the one to release the owl back into the wild.

“The flight was beautiful,” Grant said. “Probably one of the best flights I’ve seen out of a Great Horned Owl.”

About Owensboro Health

Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering; Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital, the Owensboro Health Medical Group comprised of over 200 providers at more than 20 locations; three outpatient Healthplex facilities, a certified medical fitness facility, the Healthpark; a surgical weight loss center and program, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center.

On average each year, we have 16,000 inpatient admissions, deliver 2,000 babies and provide the region’s only Level III NICU. Owensboro Health physicians perform nearly 24,000 surgical procedures, including nearly 200 open-heart surgeries. Our physicians and staff have 70,000 Emergency Department visits, more than a million outpatient visits annually. Visit our home page for more information.