When biologist Stacey O'Brien met a four-day-old baby barn owl, little did she know that this fateful encounter would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. With both a tender heart and a scientist's eye, O'Brien records his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white adult owl with a heart-shaped face. Their bond deepens as she discovers Wesley's outsize personality, subtle emotions and playful nature. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist is rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heart-warming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty.
