Traverse City Record-Eagle

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  • An oil-drenched bird is treated in Marshall. Special to the Record-Eagle

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  • Craig Brakeman

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September 26, 2010

Northern People: Vet helps oil cleanup

'It was fun. It was sad,' he says of his volunteer effort

By VANESSA McCRAY vmccray@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Veterinarian Craig Brakeman spent a day helping Kalamazoo River wildlife impacted by this summer's Michigan oil spill.

Brakeman and his son, Kyle, 21, traveled to Marshall last month to work with Focus Wildlife as it cleaned animals and birds. More than 800,000 gallons of oil was reported spilled in July in the downstate locale. Brakeman said his one-day glimpse into the situation provided a "wake-up call." He was reminded of the goodness of the people who have taken time to help and the devastating impact of oil spills closer to — and farther from — home.

"It was fun. It was sad. It was one of those things where I think (of) the scale of that, and look at the Gulf of Mexico," he said.

The veterinarian started the Traverse City franchise of Banfield, The Pet Hospital about five years ago.

His patients are usually dogs and cats, reptiles, rats, rabbits and birds. But the wildlife work was something different.

"We were there about three weeks after the spill, and so they had birds coming in that day. They had birds that had just been released and every stage in between there — from being washed to being rehabilitated," he said.

Brakeman helped out another veterinarian, worked with a swan suffering from kidney failure that had to be euthanized, and fed and completed health checks on geese.

Oil on birds poses a real threat, even as the bird tries to clean itself.

"It's deadly stuff, not just from being on their skin but from the fact that they do consume it," Brakeman said.

He studied marine biology in Florida, where he spent a lot of time on the gulf. He's "distanced" from the massive BP oil spill, but what happened here in Michigan made him think more about the dangers.

"Just imagine what would happen if there was an oil spill in the bay, especially now with all the migrating birds," he said.

Brakeman said he was heartened by the volunteer response and was grateful to be able to use his professional skills to help.

"It lets you know that humanity is still good," he said.

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