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In Memory of Birdie

by Melissa

CLICK TO ENLARGE Birdie, beloved parakeet

Birdie found me just 6 years ago, she was sitting out in a cage at a garage sale. When I commented on how pretty she was the seller said -- oh that's free, just take it. Apparently, the little boy for which she was originally intended had just been given a puppy and no longer wanted his bird. The mother of the boy said the poor thing had been terrorized by the family cat and wanted it out of the house. I took pity on her, and never being a bird owner before, took her home. It took a while, but I finally earned her trust. It took a lot of book reading to learn about the little quirks and tricks of parakeets. Birdie and I bonded pretty quickly after that. Originally thinking Birdie was a boy, and having a vet tell me the same, she surprised us all when she laid an egg about six months after I got her. A boy she was not! She went on to become a pretty prolific layer, even though there were no other birds in the house. 

Birdie was originally diagnosed with a feather cyst in March of this year when I took her in for a mass on her abdomen. I believe now that it was a misdiagnosis and she actually had a tumor. She appeared happy and healthy, but just had a slowly growing lump on her tummy. She had laser surgery and was in the ICU at the vets for a week afterwards. They said that when they 'opened her up' that it wasn't a cyst and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. They didn't completely close the wound feeling that it would be better to let it drain. The open wound got infected and she was touch and go for a while. She had to be force fed every three hours. After I got her home, the mass came back slowly but surely, and I decided it would not be in our best interest to take her back for any more misdiagnosis.

She remained quite skinny after that, and refused to eat anything from her normal dishes (I never figured that one out), and unfortunately I lost a lot of her trust after the surgery. She never acted quite the same around me, and bit me a lot more. No matter what I did, it just wasn't right. I gave her all the treats and millet she would eat, and pampered her as best I could until the very end.

I found her on the bottom of the cage Thursday morning, her left side had gone lame. She was fairly cold to the touch, but she was still with us. She wouldn't chirp or make any noise at all. Since I didn't know if she was in pain, I felt it was best to have her put to sleep. It was a very difficult decision, and you never really know if you have made the right call, and I feel like it was traumatic for her.

Birdie helped me make it through the death of my 21-year-old cat, which happened just a few months after I got her. She was there with me, another life in the house when I felt like I couldn't go on. She helped me move on, and was there to comfort me. It's amazing that something so small can make such a difference in your life. I miss her terribly, and wish nothing more to be able to do over the last day we had together.