An assistant animal control officer in Hamden saved the lives of seven baby turkeys after their mother was killed in July.
Police said Cindy Stilson-Shook, a wildlife rehabilitator in Warren, brought the rescue to their attention after Assistant Animal Control Officer Mitch Gibbs went above and beyond the call of duty.
Police said Gibbs responded to a home on Hartford Turnpike on July 25 in response to a call from a resident who found three turkey poults in the yard after a predator had killed their mother.
According to the message sent to police, Gibbs played the sounds of a mother turkey in an attempt to find any surviving poults and four more responded to it.
Gibbs then tried to find a wildlife rehabilitator, but was not able to so he brought the seven poults to his home, where he cared for them.
A day later, Gibbs drove more than 100 miles, round trip, on his own time, to Stilson-Shook’s home in Warren.
“Your officer Mitch drove some turkey poults to me after hours, when we could not organize transport thru the Connecticut Wildlife Transport page. It was imperative to these poults that they get to a rehabber,” Stilson-Shook wrote a letter commending Gibbs for his actions.” “Mitch, on his own time, drove them to me. I have raised a happy flock of wild turkeys that have been returned to the wild thanks to Mitch.”
