“I just knew if I didn’t help him, he would’ve never had a chance.”
For the workers, it was probably just another ordinary renovation task. But for one tiny animal in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, the job almost became deadly.
Caleb Evans lives in a building that was recently being renovated. Earlier this month, a crew had been repainting the outside of the building. During the work, some of the surrounding plants were accidentally hit with overspray, leaving patches of vegetation covered in white paint.
But the paint had reached more than just the plants.
While Evans was looking over the area, he noticed a small gecko nearby. The little reptile had apparently been caught in the spray days earlier and was coated in paint from head to tail.
When Evans picked him up, he wasn’t even sure if the gecko was still alive. But he knew that if he walked away, the animal probably wouldn’t survive.
So he decided to help.
Evans carefully brought the gecko inside and began gently cleaning him. Using soap and his fingers, he slowly scrubbed away the paint that had hardened over the reptile’s body. It was delicate work, but Evans stayed patient.
Little by little, the gecko began to look like himself again.
After some careful cleaning, Evans managed to remove nearly all the paint. Once the tiny lizard was free from the coating, Evans took him back outside and released him in a safer spot, far away from where the painting crew was still working.
It would have been easy to assume the gecko was beyond saving. But Evans refused to give up on him.
Thanks to one person stopping to care, the paint-covered gecko got a second chance to return to the wild.