Hedgehogs seem to be the only exception to a nature animal that can look really quite menacing with huge sharp spines plastered across their bodies, however, they have taken the internet by storm over the past few years with people keeping the spikey animals as pets and sending videos viral of owners tickling their tummies. Most people actually find hedgehogs pretty cute, which is what makes this story initially really quite sad!
Frankie the little hedgehog was found on a Saturday morning in a student halls kitchen at the University of Sheffield by a caretaker, who described him as ‘In a right state’. Frankie the poor hedgehog was curled into a small ball in a state of panic, anxiety and extreme fear. In addition to this, the students who had removed Frankie from the wild had chopped off all his spines which as a result left him in excruciating pain and dehydrated. Not only would this have caused extreme levels of stress for the poor innocent animal, but it was a malicious act with intent on the student’s behalf as they successfully chopped off all his spines, with an unidentified sharp instrument.
Immediately after being found, Frankie was taken to the Cawthorne Hedgehog Sanctuary in South Yorkshire, where owners, Anita and husband Alan Broadhead met the little hedgehog in shock. Anita said, “When we first saw him we burst into tears, to think that someone could do that to a poor little animal.” They had never come across such a malicious and cruel case and knew this would be a challenging recovery for Frankie due to the amount of psychological harm caused. Frankie had to have a scan to check none of his bones were broken due to being kicked around like a football, but luckily they were all in tact!
Now Frankie is in a warm home in the Cawthorne Hedgehog Sanctuary, in the best possible loving hands. He cannot be released back into the wild due to being defenceless with no spines but once a new set have grown through, he is expected to be safe to go back out. Once more, he is seeming happier and more relaxed, having uncurled himself from his scared little ball, so things are definitely on the up for little hedgehog Frankie!
