Laughlin police officers give a hoot

  • Published
  • By Joel Langton
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Some of Laughlin's civilian police officers had an early morning visitor to Laughlin's main gate Christmas Day.

"We were in the gate shack trying to keep warm," said Officer Ed Wanshon, a Laughlin police officer, "when we heard a big thud at the bottom of the sliding glass door. We opened the door and there was a baby owl lying there."

At the main gate there are large overhangs designed to protect the guards from the elements and the guards believe the baby owl, which is either a screech or horned owl, flew down and slammed into the base of the sliding glass door.

"At first, we thought he was dead but we saw he was still breathing and eventually became conscious," Wanshon said.

Wanshon and fellow police officer Robert Smith cared for the owl during their shift. The predator turned out to be quite docile and would even sit on their hand.

Smith took him to his uncle's nearby 1,000 acre ranch and will insure the owl is healthy and eventually released back into the wild.