Cher Ami passed on a week ago today. She was with me for two very intense weeks, fought for life harder than any bird I've ever seen and touched my heart deeply. She passed at 7:30 AM, while I held her, Unlike the life she fought for, death took her softly... she just stopped breathing.
As I told you, she had arrived two weeks before and had been a referral from Jaye at Pigeon Talk. Four weeks earlier, she had been found in downtown Portland with her tail missing. A kind new member of ours, picked her up and took her home, realizing that a pigeon without a tail was not a good thing.
She named her Cher Ami, not I. Ger Ami was a wild one, full of spunk and quick to offer pecks that could draw blood. She could wing slap with the very best of them. One day she got out of her cage and flew crazy around the room, flying into walls and such. It was after that her condition disintegrated leaving her with a twisted neck, unable to stand. Three days after the accident, she arrived at my house. She was dehydrated and very week. I spent the night hydrating her and her spunk starting to return.
I consulted Deb and she felt that Cher Ami should be on antibiotics as well. Mostly it was a waiting game with small improvemnts from a bird that would just as soon peck and wing slap me to death.
Feeding her was a nightmare. I had to stretch her neck into a normal position to get the crop needle into her crop. She didn't make it easy, resisting with all her might. It was amazing to me how such a debilitated bird could still be so strong.
About day 10, I saw a huge improvement. She was able to stand and her neck was no longer twisted. She even tried to pick up some seed although she was still to weak. Deb and I talked that she was just too mean to die. I was thrilled.
Everything went well until the latter part of day 13 and she seemed weaker and cold even though she was on the heating pad. She didn't resist so much when I fed her. By the next she was weaker still although she was able to maintain a normal position.
I sent Deb an email but didn't hear back from her. I was unaware her father had died suddenly in North Carolina and she had left town in a hurry, catching the first available flight.
So, I kept watch, never leaving her side much until she was gone.
I've told you about Cher Ami not for sympathy for my sake, but for her sake because she was a special pigeon and I want her to be remembered.
Fly with the angels, Cher....resist the urge to peck them
Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:52 pm
