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Fly Away Free
A veterinarian finds an injured pelican and nurses it back to health, until it can fly away under its own power
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1981
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December 9, 2025
This is a strange book about a California veterinarian saving a presumably sick young brown pelican. There are a lot of questions left unanswered here. Just what the pelican's problem was is never discovered. My guess is that he was a pet who was abandoned at the beach when he passed the cute stage.
There is nothing here about how to care for a sick pelican, or how to handle one. It is repeated that pelicans are not meant to be pets, but this came over oddly.
Rusty the Pelican was clearly habituated to people, and probably had no idea how to relate to pelicans. I can't help but wonder if Rusty soon died of starvation after being set free.
The back cover mentioned that photographer Richard Hewett took a famous photo of a bloodhound named Stretch. I couldn't find any info on it. How fleeting fame is. I have no idea if the photo was of the same dog named Stretch on The Beverly Hillbillies.
There is nothing here about how to care for a sick pelican, or how to handle one. It is repeated that pelicans are not meant to be pets, but this came over oddly.
Rusty the Pelican was clearly habituated to people, and probably had no idea how to relate to pelicans. I can't help but wonder if Rusty soon died of starvation after being set free.
The back cover mentioned that photographer Richard Hewett took a famous photo of a bloodhound named Stretch. I couldn't find any info on it. How fleeting fame is. I have no idea if the photo was of the same dog named Stretch on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Displaying 1 of 1 review