Army veteran who found 'safe space' helping wildlife spreads joy with rescue owls

Yahoo

4 days ago

AN army veteran and PTSD sufferer whose 'safe space' is developing deep connections with wild animals is spreading the love with a team of rescue owls.
Ian Daniells, from Winsford, served in the Royal Armoured Corps for 27 years, seeing active service in Ireland, before retraining as a farms inspector for the Heath and Safety Executive.
In both roles, he experienced harrowing instances of trauma, which left him with intense feelings of isolation and crippling social anxiety.
Ian eventually sought help, and was treated by Combat Stress, a veterans' mental health charity, which involved him travelling to Newport in Shropshire.
On the way, he would pass Reaseheath College in Nantwich, which he discovered ran an evening course in wildlife care and rehabilitation.
'I couldn't stand being around people at the time, but as there were only a few on the course, I somehow managed," the 71-year-old said.
Ian said chocolate 'was pretty vicious' when she was first rescued, but now she feels safe, she's a delight to be around (Image: Newsquest) At the end of his course, Ian learned about Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital in Ollerton, close to where he lives.
He contacted its founder, Ray Jackson MBE, who after meeting him in person, invited Ian onboard as a volunteer to work very closely with the rescued animals.
'Ray had me mucking out foxes and badgers to begin with, so I absolutely stank,' he added.
'But it was unbelievable, working with those wonderful wild animals, then moving on to look after the bats and all the other wildlife.
Ian says Chocolate is much better behaved now than she was when they first met (Image: Newsquest) 'The nature reserve where the animal hospital sits became my safe place.
"I can just sit by the pond and take in the dragonflies and nature envelops me.
"It really calms me down. Without that, my life would've been a lot shorter.
'I'd already tried to do away with myself three times.'
After gaining experience at Lower Moss Wood, Ian also spent time working at the Moholoholo Wildlife Hospital in South Africa.
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An unforgettable experience from the trip, he says, was sleeping in an enclosure with an adult male lion, called Big Boy, who was in the last few weeks of his life.
When Ian got back to the UK, Ray asked him if he would take one of Lower Moss Wood's barn owls, Shimba, to schools, hospices, and mental health treatment facilities as part of its outreach and education programme.
Staff at Lower Moss Wood use their owls - including this barn owl - to teach children about our native wildlife (Image: Newsquest) 'I suddenly saw how Shimba could make other people so incredibly happy, just like she did for me.
'On one occasion, we were at a rehabilitation centre in Winsford, and I introduced Shimba to a elderly lady patient who had been blind from birth.
'Shimba hopped onto her bed and went totally calm, and let the blind lady touch her all over, with both her hands.
'The women had grown up on a farm and had heard barn owls all her life, but had never seen one. Now, she was actually touching one.
'The nurses all broke down in tears.
"It was astonishing. I can't explain how much it meant to her. Her health improved really rapidly after that.'
Ian is now a trustee of Lower Moss Wood, as well as a member of its fundraising team, and most weekends he is out with the owls visiting all sorts of people who find themselves needing a boost.
'We go to mental health treatment centres, hospitals, hospices, you name it.
'It's so rewarding for me to take the birds out to meet people who are having a tough time.
'It's what keeps me going, if I'm honest.'