her name is Pepper and I sent her there tearfully. It was my last act of love for her...to end the suffering that was unavoidable. They think she had a tumor. They said she wouldn't last two days. They said I made the right decision. It still hurts though. Pepper was an incredibly tame and loving parakeet...with a penchant for nose picking (mine, that is). She clearly preferred me over all of the other human beings in my house. Her adoration of me was shown in many ways...flying across rooms to light on my shoulder...allowing lengthy head rubs...nightly climbs up the cage walls to give goodnight kisses. Sometimes she would seemingly go into a trance-like state as I would coo to her and rub her back. Little did we realize that she perceived this as mating behavior...until we found a Christmas present in the form of a beautiful egg laid in her food dish!
Our little bird - green and yellow and peppered with black - surely knew her love was returned. Our last night together included several hours of comforting by all of us who were lucky to have known her...the wee hours of the morning she slept on the warmth of my bare chest, hopefully comforted by my own heart that beat with prayers for her.
My last words to Pepper? "It's ok to go to Jesus now...hopefully Gandhi, Be-Bird and Fa (my other dearly departed birds) are there waiting for you. The bible says that God loves all creatures great and small...God created you and to Him you'll return." And after giving her one more hug, kiss and an "I love you", she snuck in one more nose pick as tears rolled down my face.
Rest in peace sweet Pepper...you are loved.
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