Goodbye, Little Bird

This is the last photo taken of Sen, an American-standard budgerigar or parakeet. Two weeks ago, we found her shivering at the bottom of the outdoor aviary where she has lived for the last year. Thinking she was ill (they're prone to respiratory infections), we brought her inside and medicated her, setting her up in a cage in our office. She seemed fine, if a bit clumsy, but was eating and drinking normally.

Last weekend, while cleaning in her cage, I noticed that she wasn't reacting to my hand being there until I touched her. A bit of experimentation showed that she had lost sight in both eyes. Since she seemed otherwise healthy, and was finding the food and water, we felt we should juet keep her indoors and let her live out her life.

A day or two ago, we saw her behaving strangely, and realized that she was having a seizure of some sort, and held her until it passed. Closer observation revealed that she was having several seizures each day, and fearing that she would injure herself during one, we decided the best option was to have her put down.

Although my wife and I are both Monty Python fans, we felt that hitting her with a great big book, or shooting her just above the beak, were not wise choices.

This morning, after taking several photos, we took her to the excellent Acacia Animal Hospital here in Escondido, the veterinarian agreed that the best thing for Sen was to end her life gently, and so it was done swiftly.

Sen now rests in our freezer awaiting the Summer Solstice when we traditionally build a pyre for any pets we've lost since the Winter Solstice, and we will say our final farewell to her then.