Life saved for stranded mouse
A baby dormouse was rescued alone on a pavement, beside a busy road, by a gardener that nearly trod on it.
The tiny mouse, which is thought to be just three weeks old, had fallen from its mother's nest and had no hope of finding its way back as its eyes had not yet opened.
Fortunately, the passer-by, a gardener from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, rescued the mouse and took it to the nearby Folly Wildlife Centre, where it was nursed in an incubator.
The mouse, which has been named Douglas by staff at the centre, was fed formula every two hours until it's strength was built up.
Centre manager, Annette Risley, said: "He was at serious risk of dying from hypothermia or he could have been stepped on, so the gardener picked him up and got him to us.
"He is making great progress and will eventually go to another animal centre before being released into the wild in about a year."
RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.
