A couple from Fife have transformed their home into a mini hospital for hedgehogs, helping sick and injured ones get back on their feet.
Andy and Sharon Longhurst have gone all out for their spiky patients, setting up a special hedgehog maternity ward in their garden and even building a tiny intensive care unit in their garage.
They’ve also enlisted a team of volunteers who drive “hedgehog ambulances” to rescue animals in need.
Since launching Burntisland Hedgehog Haven nearly three years ago, the pair have nursed more than 560 hedgehogs back to health.
The work can be demanding – the couple often stay up through the night feeding orphaned baby hedgehogs – but they say it’s all worth it.
Sharon, 49, explained that they’re fully trained and licensed to care for up to 40 hedgehogs at a time, before releasing them safely back into the wild.
The Fife couple’s dedication to helping hedgehogs has earned them a spot on the shortlist for the Make a Difference Awards in Scotland, under the animal category.
Sharon said that if they come across a hedgehog in pain or distress, they simply can’t turn it away.
The couple, who have three children, added that people often arrive at their doorstep without warning, bringing hedgehogs that need urgent care.
So far, about 65 percent of the hedgehogs they’ve treated have survived. Andy, who works as a bus driver in Edinburgh, said that without their help, many of the animals wouldn’t make it.
Alongside caring for the hedgehogs, both Andy and Sharon are trained in animal first aid, and around 90 percent of their volunteers have completed the same course.
Sharon explained that although they’re not vets, they’re able to rehabilitate the animals and provide crucial support.
In more serious cases, such as hedgehogs with large wounds, the animals are taken directly to a vet for antibiotics and further treatment.
How It Started
Sharon said their journey began quite unexpectedly during a drive to Kirkcaldy, when they spotted an injured hedgehog on the side of the road.
They took it to the SSPCA wildlife hospital in Alloa, hoping it would recover.
A couple of weeks later, they found another hedgehog in poor condition and made the same trip again.
That was when they realised how many of these animals needed help – and decided to start doing something about it themselves.
