A red and black flannel shirt is clearly the preferred outfit of Dandon Miller. He’s had the shirt for eight years and wears it all the time. He never thought it would help save a life. Saturday became a Memorial Day for Miller. He was on his way home from Philadelphia when traffic slowed in front of him. Miller pulled his motorcycle over to the side of the two-lane highway and was shocked to see what had caused the traffic jam.
,,I looked down to see why everyone had stopped, and there was a bald eagle in the middle of the road,” Miller tells The Dodo. “There was another person and they were pushing it a little bit to see if it would get off the road or fly away. It spread its wings but didn’t fly away.
Miller was a huge animal lover. He was aware that he had to help the injured bird to safety. The large animal was too injured to fly, but its powerful claws were reason enough for Miller to take off his favorite flannel shirt and put it on. To Miller’s surprise, the eagle remained calm as he wrapped it in the shirt. Miller reported: ,,I picked it up and it was very calm’’. She got a little upset when people started taking pictures, but they kept her under control.
After removing the eagle from the road, Miller called 911. He eventually contacted Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, a local wild bird rescue center. Miller held the 15-pound bird for about 45 minutes while he waited for help. But time flew by.
Miller said: ,,I wasn’t really thinking about it when I was holding her. I just tried to keep her calm and make sure she knows that she is secure and that I wasn’t going to drop her. It was just amazing to hold that bird and for her to be calm like that.’’
The sea eagle had several days of treatment. The rescue organisation is confident that they can release him back into the wild. Rebecca Stansell of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research told The Dodo: ,,He had a small eye injury and soft tissue damage, but no fractures. Our veterinarian treated his injuries. Meanwhile the eagle was under anesthesia. There can always be setbacks, but we are optimistic that he will make a full recovery.”
Miller’s favourite flannel shirt has certainly seen better days. The shirt now has some major scuffs in it, but Miller knows it was for the best and he’ll definitely wear it again.