A love for all animals

When you’ve seen an alligator laid out on your exam room table, the average dog or house cat can seem a little tame.

For 28 years, veterinarian Dr. Alvin Atlas has treated mainly dogs, cats and other pets at Riverview Animal Clinic on U.S. 280. But as one of only a few area vets who will treat local wildlife, Atlas occasionally sees something a little more exotic come through the door.

Atlas, along with fellow Riverview vet Dr. Chris Campbell, is one of the veterinarians of choice for the Alabama Wildlife Center, Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, Camp McDowell, Lake Guntersville and several other wildlife rescue or education centers. He also treats birds of prey for falconers.

The animals he has treated range from hummingbirds, pelicans and owls to coyotes, bobcats and reptiles. Before the Birmingham Zoo had a full-time veterinarian, Atlas provided services for their exhibit animals, too, including ostriches, flamingos and a particularly memorable leg amputation on an alligator.

“You’ve got a skill set as a veterinarian. Obviously there’s more we can do for dogs and cats and bigger animals,” Atlas said. “[But] if we can do it in a parrot, we can do it in an owl. It’s not completely transferable; it doesn’t completely go back and forth, but it’s close enough.”

For wildlife rescue services such as the Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain State Park, Atlas provides examination and treatment for free as a community service, as he believes the work they do needs more funding.

“We support them and what they do, and we try to give them a break on services,” he said.

Atlas’ path to treating Alabama wildlife started with an interest in reptiles as a child. He worked with the Southeastern Raptor Center while at Auburn and connected with the AWC when he came to Birmingham. 

Turtles are Atlas’ favorite animals, and he frequently sees injured pregnant turtles come into the clinic. For more than 30 years, he has been incubating turtle eggs and releasing the hatchlings. He even has a special cabinet above his refrigerator that is the perfect temperature to house them; when he and his wife remodeled their kitchen, he made sure a new “turtle cabinet” was installed.

“It just worked out that way. It’s just warm enough with the heat coming off the back of the refrigerator,” Atlas said. “My wife’s a pretty good sport. I use all her Tupperware to incubate the turtle eggs.”

There is a lot of crossover between treating wildlife and pets due to their similar physiology and ailments. However, as Atlas pointed out while examining a barred owl that came to Riverview in January, most family pets don’t require heavy leather gloves to handle.

“Sometimes they are so highly stressed that treating them is part of the problem, so you may want to do something that’s more remote and not as invasive that a pet might tolerate better,” Atlas said. “The prey animals, some of them — just handling them can push them over the edge.”

Looking down at the barred owl waking up from anesthesia in his arms, Atlas commented that birds of prey and other hunting animals are typically able to handle treatment more easily, even if he has to find a creative way to treat them.

“This guy’s pretty good,” he said.

The owl’s injured wing was bandaged and, after being confined at the AWC to allow time to heal, he is expected to be releasable.

Even with three decades of experience, Atlas has occasionally let his guard down at the wrong time. He recalled treating a great blue heron, and taking the opportunity to show the Riverview staff how to safely handle a wild bird. However, his grip on the heron wasn’t quite as good as he thought.

“It turned around and bit me right on the nose,” Atlas said.

Since he got started as a vet, Atlas said he has been able to treat more severe wildlife injuries and illnesses. He enjoys the challenge, as well as the opportunity to make sure every animal gets what it needs.

“It’s satisfying on several levels. These are animals that sort of fall through the cracks. There’s always people who will take in the warm and the fuzzy ones, you know, because they want to. There’s this emotional connection with warm and fuzzy mammals, and even with the raptors, but a lot of it’s really hit or miss,” Atlas said. “People take them in and start doing incorrect things. Now, in the days of the Internet people are doing better things, but being a veterinarian gives me an advantage.”