by Amy Barr
I knew him for only two days, no...for longer. I knew I wanted to help that bird, I knew I did.
You see, I go to a petshop all the time to purchase things for my scale babies, as well as my fur babies. All the time.
I saw Fantasy as an egg, on the floor of a stacked cage with his beautiful greenish grey lovebird parents. Two or three times a week, I'd go back to look.
An egg, a chick---a fledgeling. I saw him, peeking through a tiny slit in newspaper put over the cage so they couldn't catch disease or be disturbed.
Then time went by...
I saw Fantasy Wednesday, January 14th 2004. A beautiful blue with a dusting of grey. Big, bright, black eyes. With a major setback, both legs skewed out in an awkward position, crippled. It was that day I was determined I would make him mine.
Why spend hundreds of dollars more for a sick bird, then spend hundreds less for a healthy one? I couldn't explain it, I wanted this bird.
I purchased him on Thursday, with a friend. I took him home, and he was scared to death of me. He often flew somewhere else to get away from me. That was Thursday...
Friday he would fly and land somewhere, and lacking the ability to get up, he'd call to me. Louder and louder till I would go get him. I babied this bird, gave him everything he needed. I positioned things in his cage, so he could pull his body up on perches, like a staircase to chew on his favorite mineral block. I loved this bird, but nothing prepared me for Saturday.
While messing with one of the doors on his cage, Fantasy did his best to climb up, and try to get out of the hole to see me. I helped, of course, and the entire morning he sat with me, in my lap as I stroked his neck and kept him warm. We watched TV and I talked to him about it, he would curl up and we would both fall asleep together. The whole day we had so much fun! It was amazing that this little bird who was scared of me not even a day before, was now sleeping in the crook of my elbow and accepting treats from my hands.
The night changed...I went to check on him after I was online. Saw his eyes closed, he looked dead. I poked him and his eyes opened. I commented "Oh don't do that! I thought you were dead!" but something was wrong.
Picking up my crippled bird I sat down on the floor, listening to him gasp for air, in pain. Checked his throat for signs of choking, checked him over. No broken neck---I had no idea what went on or what was happening...but I knew I was going to lose him. I tried, me and my mom tried together, and all the time I cried and asked him not to leave my side, I fell in love with him too hard and too fast to have him torn from my heart in two days.
Around 10 minutes passed...and finally I did the only thing I could. I put him close to my shoulder, held him, and told him about the rainbow bridge.
Shortly after I finished, he passed on.
Fantasy was one of those animals that change your life instantly. With an array of animals myself, I must say each and every one changed my life, but he for the most. I only knew him for two days, just two, but it's one of the hardest things I ever went through in the loss of a pet.
I miss his chirps, I miss holding him, I miss giving him treats and talking about his trip to the vet, to get his legs fixed, and if not that I would build him this great cage, where he could get up and down by using the awkward position of his legs and he could go as high as he wanted to climb.
I know many people have been through the same loss I have been through...but when I know that this little bird is healthy, his legs are straight and they can grasp with full strength, he is full of spirit, vigor, and love...that he is waiting, with all the others.
And when I come to the Rainbows Bridge
It'll be a stampede.