Fred Leak, a dentist from British Columbia, proved that not all dentists are bad when he saved a bald eagle who had been shot and left for dead by a truck driver.
It all started when residents of Tofino, British Columbia heard a loud gunshot one afternoon and witnesses noticed a truck driving away shortly thereafter. After some investigation, they were able to find a wounded eagle who was missing the majority of his beak.
These concerned people quickly took the bird to Rory’s Refuge, where it was immediately transported to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, British Columbia. Initially, several veterinarians suggested that the eagle be put down, but volunteers persevered and were delighted to see that the bird was starting to recover.
That’s when Dr. Brian Andrews came into the picture offering a unique solution. Andrews took an exact mold of the missing portion of the bird’s beak and then built a hard wax model for dental technician Fred Leak to work with.
When the mold was ready for application, Leak constructed a permanent prosthesis and even tinted it yellow to match the rest of the bird’s beak, just in case the bird felt self-conscious around the ladies. Leak successfully applied the prosthetic beak and the bald eagle made a full recovery!