I just phoned Forever Wild for a Smokey update. He had a visit with the veterinary ophthalmologist today, and will be starting some new anti-inflammatory drugs. It's not known yet whether he'll be able to get back to the wild, because they can't tell whether there's been damage to only one or both eyes (one was clearly injured, but the other might have been involved too). If his other eye is OK, then it's likely they'll remove the bad one (eiiuw, but OK), and he'll be releasable. Apparently one-eyed owls do just fine in the wild, as they use their hearing for hunting, and they can adapt to monocular vision. Smokey's flying is fine, and he's eating and acting like he feels alright.
If his other eye is not OK, then Smokey'll be a wildlife ambassadowl for the sanctuary. Probably a few more weeks before they'll know the ultimate outcome. At least he's alive and eating and flying and being an owl, and that's a very good thing.
