As a researcher at Cal Tech in 1985, Stacey O’Brien made an easy target when a four day old barn owl with an injured wing needed a permanent home. After Wesley had consumed Stacey’s life I have to wonder if, had she known, she would have taken on the responsibility.
Wesley lived close to 20 years, and during that time was totally dependent of Stacey for survival. She had to provide him with no less than 6 mice each day, more when he was molting. Owls mate for life and, since he considered Stacey his mate he defended her vehemently. Because PETA was breaking into research facilities and releasing captive animals (despite their inability to survive in the wild) Stacey chose to keep Wesley a secret. Not that it mattered since he would aggressively attack anyone besides her who entered his room. For his entire life his care fell almost exclusively to Stacey.
While the story itself is interesting, the telling was not as engaging as stories like Marley & Me or Buffalo for the Broken Heart.