15 March 2024 , 13:35
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An animal-loving car mechanic has become best pals with a pet seagull after nursing the injured fowl back to health.
Bruce Garden, 54, saved the seabird when he found her with a badly damaged wing on the industrial estate where he mends vehicles. The feathered friend, who he named 'Hopeful', has since taken up residence in his garage - and now has a varied diet of muscles, baby bells cheese and mints.
And she has even become a hit with customers, who love seeing her strutting around the workshop while they get their cars fixed. Bruce said: "She came in and has been part of the furniture ever since. She definitely has a personality. When I'm sitting in the chair in the workshop area of the garage, she will come over and sit on the jack close to me or peck my feet.
"The customers that come in are usually quite interested in it as it is not often you get to see a seagull in close quarters. I have not received any negative feedback about Hopeful, most people seem quite positive about it." Bruce said he came across Hopeful roughly 18 months ago in the car park next to his business, Tyresavers, in Dumbarton, Scotland.
The feathered friend has been named 'Hopeful' (Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)He had phoned a national animal charity after finding that she had a damaged wing, but they had told him to "let nature take its course". However, when a passer-by brought the forlorn bird to his garage a short time later, Bruce decided to take pity on her.
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He said: "There was blood coming out of the injured wing and I just sort of helped her up and it walked away quite the thing. Someone else then brought it back into the garage as they know I am a soft touch when it comes to wildlife or anything else that is less fortunate. I helped nurse it back to health and named it 'Hopeful' in the hope it will fly again."
Bruce said it was trial and error working out how he could save the injured bird and what she might like to eat. He first gave her a liquid supplement, rich in vitamin D and calcium, for her weakened bones, but later learned she enjoyed a raft of other types of food.
The feathered friend has since taken up residence in his garage (Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)Bruce said: "I bought a liquid that you put into water which is meant to aid bone growth and it did from the point of view of allowing its wing to become strong enough as it continues to develop. Everyone has an impression that a seagull will eat anything. But I can tell you, this one doesn't. I feed it mussels, mints and Babybel cheese, which it likes on occasion, and I go through the process of seeing what she likes."
Bruce said Hopeful now lives in a nest on his premises made from branches and old tyres. And while she is still unable to fly due to her injured wing, she seems to enjoy being involved with the work in his garage. He joked: "Anything that's on the floor that she decides should not be there gets picked up and thrown."