A Visitor

A couple weeks ago there was a loud thud an the front door.  I was busy doing something, so I didn't go out to see what it was.  I forgot all about that thud until a few hours later when I opened the door to take the kids outside and to my surprise, there was a bird, almost lifeless laying at our doorstep.  The bird was convulsing and his future wasn't looking good.  But Checo, the veterinarian, stepped in and took over.  He picked up the bird (with paper towels, of course) and moved him to a shady corner on our porch because he was previosly roasting in the afternoon sun.  The Vet gave him some water in a cute little tupperware lid and he had me fix him a delicious meal (bread crumbs and flax seed).  He stayed there on the porch until night, but The Vet got worried that a cat or some other animal might get the helpless bird who couldn't walk or fly.  So The Vet's assistant (your's truly) had to fetch a box and The Vet gingerly laid the bird inside along with his water and food and we said goodnight. 

The next morning the bird was looking good and there were signs that he had eaten some of his food.  He had gotten out of the box and was hanging out in the grass.  We really thought he was on the mend.  He spend the next 5 days in our backyard.  Sammy would go outside everyday (more like 10 times a day) and ask where the bird was.  We would search the yard and always find him somewhere.  He was trying so hard to fly again, he would hobble up to a plant and prop himself up on a branch and he'd flap his wings so hard, but one of his wings was broken and he wasn't going anywhere.  He never gave up though.  He was a fighter.

The bird after he just took a ride around the yard on the little car

He was looking so good

Well, the sad news is that he never got better.  One morning I went outside to check on our new pet and I found him face down in the ground.  I had a sad story in my head for why he died....He tirelessly tried and tried to fly for 5 days without any success.  He was so sad and heartbroken that he would never fly again.  He had no more strength to try and he just gave up.  He died of a broken heart.  Isn't that sad?  When I mentioned that to The Vet that morning, he told me that when he hit the door, he was probably hurt internally (you know, his organs, not a broken heart) and whatever damage was done, that was the cause of his death.  I know, my story sounds more like a sad movie.  Good thing I have Checo as a husband to balance out my crazy ideas!