Yesterday, I went to my folks' house to help clean cages, drop off perches and food, hang out with mom, take pictures of the new horde of foster-budgies/1 canary, and pick up Fluffatiel to bring him back to my house for us to foster again.
When we came back to Fort Lauderdale from Birds of Paradise Sanctuary 3.5 hours away (with said foster-budies/canary in tow), my journey wasn't done yet. My folks are 45 minutes away in West Boca. They were birdy-sitting my flock and my fosters; 2 budgies and Fluffatiel. After setting-up for the new fosters, I loaded my guys and the 2 budgies into my Yaris. Unfortunately, Fluffatiel's cage was too big to fit in my car. I told him I'll be picking him up soon.
My husband needed my car to haul car parts this past week, so I had to come straight home after work in East Boca, but on Saturday, I had time after Christmas shopping to pick him up.
As soon as Fluffatiel saw me, he was dancing at his door. He was let out to flutter around the living room. He's a very graceful and gentle flier, so as long as the fan was off, the blinds were down, bathroom's closed, and all that good stuff, it was safe for flutterings.
He landed on my shoulder, I told him what a good bird he is, then he went to sit with my mom to watch Christmas shows on ABC Family while I cleaned cages.
At one point, a sound from outside startled him and he fluttered about fine, didn't hit anything, I was there to watch him. He came back to land on the head of the recliner as I was standing right next to it, talking to Cassandra the Amazon.
I look at him and asked him, "What happened, did you get scared?" thinking nothing of it. I pet him, but something was wrong. He tilted to his side and gradually slid down the front of the chair. I watched him to see if it was a seizure and hoping it was just a quick moment of shock, but it lasted for more than 30 seconds, so I scooped him up. Observing him, I took him into my parent's room, away from noise and any stressers, and put him on the bed. He arched back, with no sound, and he slowly started to calm down. I'm telling myself "Look, he's coming out of it, I can get him to the vet." He wasn't coming out of it. I took him in my hands, telling him it's ok, but it wasn't ok.
His life was just leaving him, in my hands. I even tried to rub his chest, to see if maybe that would get his heart going... I couldn't believe this. I sat with him, hoping he would wake up. I don't understand what happened. I came over to bring him home. My husband loved him so much. We wanted more time with him. We almost wanted to keep him, but we know our limits, and we even had a potential adopter for him.
I'm grateful I was there to show him I was back to bring him home to get mega-spoilings. As soon as funds were available, he was going to go in for his wellness exam.
I held him as he passed. He wasn't alone, he died knowing love, and that's all I ever want for all birds.
I am so sorry. I lost one of my buddies Christmas morning after he had a B12 injection and a very negative reaction to it. He died in my hands too. I am so sad. He was so healthy and then....gone.
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