Story by By Kathy O’Hara. Reprinted with permission by United Poultry Concerns.
My husband Tom and I have driven across the 23-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge in Virginia countless times. But Friday night June 3rd was a sight like no other.We were heading out of the second tunnel when we saw it – white, fluffy, and on the road. A few seconds passed before we realized what “it” was. I can still hear my husband, “Was that a chicken?”
It all happened so fast. I was in tears. Quick! Turn around. Make a U-turn at the first break in the road, drive back through the second tunnel, then the first. Another U-turn through tunnel, road, tunnel!
Our plan: If the chicken was still there and not hit by a car, we’d slow down, turn on the flashers. I’d be ready with a towel, throw open the door, and grab the bird!
There she was, standing just the same, head stretched down and forward toward the oncoming traffic. I grabbed her!
This was not her day to die, and with that thought in mind, I named her Reva, short for “Revenant,” after the movie – a person who has returned from the dead or a long absence.
Now – what to do with a chicken? Heading toward our boat at the marina on the Eastern Shore, we got a box from a liquor store and laid Reva in it with her towel.
I called a friend hoping she knew someone who wanted a chicken. A few minutes later she called back. Turned out an advocacy sanctuary for chickens called United Poultry Concerns was a mere 20 miles up the road on the Eastern Shore!
I left a phone message, and waiting for a call back, I made Reva a makeshift plastic water bowl. To my delight, she took several large gulps and even seemed to splash a bit on her beak. I later learned this was the first time Reva had ever had unlimited access to water.