Good bye, sweet birdie.
Snowy Budgie, originally uploaded by CrowChick.
Tennotaro, my curmudgeonly budgerigar sidekick of 8+ years, passed away today.
He'd been favoring his one foot Thursday night, so I put a heating pad on him. Friday night he had gone back to using his foot, but his appetite and droppings were off, so I gave him one of his favorite treats. Saturday morning he had eaten only half his treat (usually he stuffs his face on the whole thing) and was shivering, so I gave him another heating pad and a lamp.
I didn't want to rush him to the vet right away, as the trip is stressful on him. He's had relapses like this in the past, and usually a heat pad, some quiet, and his snacks were enough to get him back on track. But I noticed he wasn't resisting me much when I'd pick him up, not a Tenno-like trait. I mean if Tenno were a human, his catch phrase would be "piss off." He's a curmudgeon!
So I waited.
And as I was sitting at my desk watching Keeping Up Appearances, I heard fluttering. I peeked in his cage to find him on the grating, under his perch, as though he had fallen, his wings shaking uncontrollably. He looked surprised. I offered him my hand, and he accepted it. I put a heating pad in a plastic tub and sat him on it, coveringt the top with a towel. I couldn't trust him not to fall off his perch. By now I didn't think he'd make it through the night. I went downstairs to get him a papertowel to sit on so he wouldn't get his claws stuck on the heating pad cover, and when I came back with Joe, he was dead.
I'm glad I was there for him. It would have been rotten to come home from work one night to find him dead on the dirty grating under his perch, cold and splayed. I'm glad I was there for him.
My lovely husband rose to the occasion and helped bury the little bird when I was out of sorts. The rest of this weekend will consist of me sobbing and putting away his things.
I am going to miss him. My office is lonely now. God speed you, little boy sky king.