Help Save The Lake Davis Lake Cherokee Male Swan

Hi, my name is Andrew Marshall, a resident of Lake Copeland and volunteer for all things downtown Orlando swan related. I am working to raise funds for costs associated with emergency care due to life threatening lead poisoning of the male swan that occupies both Lake Cherokee & Lake Davis,

On Friday, April 12th, I received a notification that there was an injured swan under the palms in Lake Cherokee park. Upon arrival, realized it was the male swan (George to many) who was unable to stand or walk, with no defense response at all to our approach, leaving him in grave danger.

Realizing he has left his mate and 5 cygnets was also a significant concern, as swans rarely leave their cygnets or their mate, with cygnets so young.

Sadly, there are very few veterinarians who will care for a semi-captive swan, such as those at Lake Eola or on our downtown lakes. Thankfully, the veterinarian who also treats the semi-captive waterfowl at Lake Eola agreed to see him.

Upon the first visit, observing symptoms such as not standing, not walking, neck protrusions and not eating, an xray was done to start the treatment analysis. Upon review, a small metal object resembling a fishing weight was observed.

A Blood panel was done to identify lead levels, but in the meantime, treatment for other potential issues was administered, which included anti-inflammatory medicine, antibiotics and supportive isolated overnight care at the vet, while we awaited the lead panel results.

Lead panel is a rather infrequent request locally and took one week to receive, which identified his lead levels at 3.7 parts per million (PPM), where normal high level is .5PPM, resulting in a 7x elevated level, which further substantiated the presumed health issue identified from symptoms and xray.

Additional specialty vet care is required as no other local vet has the resources or medication to treat lead poisoning in swans, which will include Chelation Therapy, overnight care for an addition week as this therapy is given 1x daily for a week, potential tube feeding and/or electrolytes until health improves. We hope to avoid surgery with this care and will identify if the lead weight has passed via an additional X-ray. If surgery is required, this would make the care exponentially higher :(

We desperately want him to receive the care he needs for his health to improve, so he may get back on the lake with his mate and young cygnets.

Thank you for your consideration and donation to help support George and his swan family