Rio Jean Photography - Kent, WA { A tribute to my birds}

2.1.2014, that was the day, and I knew it was going to be that day, when my bird was going to die. I have always had birds throughout my childhood and I love them! They are so cute and tiny but they have huge personalities and have made such a big impact on my life. During my adult life, I had my Cockatiel, Captain Fuzzy Butt, who I have had since she was a baby. I left for college and was able to see her during my trips home as the dorms didn’t allow animals. After graduating college, I added two more birds, Commander and General, who were parakeets. Commander was blue and General was green and they were good buds from the beginning. Then I bought Fuzzy Butt a companion, his name was Cheerio and I absolutely loved that little guy! I could whistle a tune and with some practice Cheerio would be able to whistle back to me that same tune. It was so cute, I would hear him practice a tune, it was almost like he was whispering because he would do it quite and I would hear him mess up and then he would make this noise like he was frustrated and then start over again. LOVE! I then rescued another Cockatiel, Noah, he was beautiful. He was grey and white and was having a hard time at his home so I took him in. He was pretty feisty and didn’t like to be held and man he bit hard! Luckily I was able to find a good home for Noah where he was able to open up and be loved. I check in with his owner frequently and it sounds like Noah found his happy place. Cheerio unfortunately didn’t live for long, I came home one day and he was laying on the bottom of the cage , so I picked him up and had the person I was with drive us to the pet emergency hospital, but Cheerio died in my hands. I guess one funny thing that happened, was when we arrived at the animal hospital, I handed off Cheerio to the staff and they had us sit in a room and fill some paper work out. I was so distraught that on the line that asked what species my animal was I put CAT! I kind of chuckle about that every once in a while. So now, it was just Fuzzy Butt, Commander, and General. I moved to an apartment that didn’t allow animals so I thought a safe place for the birds would be with my dad . . . WRONG! Somehow their wiener dog got a hold of General and killed him! I was so sad that day. The one thing that gets me about losing a pet is that I have observed most people just go out and buy a new one that day…what about the life that was lost? It’s like they don’t even grieve or acknowledge that soul. Let’s go fill that empty space with another living being. I say that because when General died, my parents just offered to buy me a new one. Well NO I am sorry, I lost something I love and don’t need a replacement. So unfortunately Fuzzy Butt and Commander had to go live with my ex boyfriend and he didn’t take care of them. I went there every week to clean their cages and see them. I remember one time I was cleaning the cage and a mouse jumped out! Seriously! I had to find another way for my birds because that wasn’t working. As fate would have it, I met my husband. We pretty much knew from the beginning that we were it for each other. My husband is very kind and caring, so he graciously welcomed my birds to his home, our home. I like to think my birds had a good life, they got plenty of exercise and were feed a pretty healthy diet. Last year, my long time friend of 15 years died in my hands. Fuzzy Butt was an amazing companion and had so much personality! I remember one time I gave her a bath and washed her pretty good. She was mad at me! She turned her back to me in her cage and when I went and talked to her, she just glanced at me over her shoulder. Love her! I loved her from the moment I saw her and laying her to rest was very emotional. I still cry when I think of her but I see her everyday when I look into the back yard. Yesterday was horrible. Commander hadn’t been doing well for a while, when Fuzzy Butt died, he seemed to be depressed as he just sat in his cage, didn’t sing for about a month. He gradually started singing again but his health started to decline. This past week, he was sitting on the bottom of his cage and when I picked him up I could feel his little breast bone as he lost so much weight. I was so stressed out for the entire week as I was so worried about him. I couldn’t sleep and every morning when I came down stairs to say good morning to him, I would hold my breath, slowly look under his cage cover, and then when I didn’t see his body laying on the ground I would feel so relieved. Then 2.1.2014 came. That was the day I knew my bird was going to die, the day I would no longer see his cute little body, or hear his sweet song. I went to say good morning and he was chilling on the bottom of the cage but then I noticed there was blood . . . my heart sank. I searched around for an Avian specialist as I didn’t want any vet to see my bird. Luckily I found Sawyer Lake Veterinary Hospital and they could fit us in! So I grabbed Commander, me and my husband made the journey to the clinic. We met with Dr. Bridget Ferguson who was so kind and gentle, I am so glad that we found her! She did a quick examination on Commander and found that he had a large mass in his belly and that was what was causing him to bleed. With a heavy heart I made the decision that it was in Commander’s best interest to be euthanized. I brought Commander home, wrote him a little love letter and wrapped his body in it. We buried him next to Fuzzy Butt. Commander was an interesting little bird! When General died, his new best friend was Fuzzy Butt and he snuggled with her ALL the time. Fuzzy Butt was quite a bit older than he and most of times was annoyed with him. I thought Commander was beautiful, he had this little white patch on the top of his head, so cute! Commander was 10 years old when died. Most parakeets live for about…5 – 7 years if they are lucky. They are prone to getting tumors as they are inbred a lot to get all of the unnatural colors. Blue and Green are two of the natural colors. I only have pictures of Commander and Fuzzy Butt. This may sound silly to some, but it is really important to have pictures of not only your loved ones, but of your pets too. All of my birds have touched my heart in some way.