Neglected Hedgehog Gets a Second Chance Thanks to a Caring Teenager
Sophie Mirabile is only 17 years old, but to one little hedgehog she’s already a hero
Sophie Mirabile acted quickly when saw an ad on Craigslist from a woman who said she needed to “get rid of” her pet hedgehog, and fast. Although the woman initially asked $300 for Stitch and the food and supplies he came with, she began dropping the price and eventually charged just $25 for the hog. Already suspicious at the poster’s desperation, Mirabile said she was appalled when she finally saw Stitch’s true condition.
The teenager and a friend met the woman in the parking lot of a Bass Pro Shop of the small Mississippi town where Mirabile lives. She said the woman had put Stitch, unnamed at the time, into a mesh butterfly or bug net. Immediately, Mirabile could smell him. Upon closer inspection, she saw he was completely emaciated and had sores on his stomach and feet.
“My stomach dropped,” Mirabile said. “He could barely stand up. He might not have survived the night.” Mirabile said the woman had called on the way to their meeting to warn the hedgehog had “swollen feet,” but she didn’t expect his condition to be so bad. She rushed him immediately to the vet and was told he only weighed four ounces, whereas a healthy adult male…
