Today has been a hard day. For all of us, but especially for Kevin. Last night we took his pet budgie to the emergency vet. He's been sick for about ten days and his right leg had gone lame. We thought he had a bad cold and got him some medicine. But last night around 6pm Kevin noticed a lump on him and that, even though he's been eating a lot, he was very thin.
The vet told us that Arrow had cancer. The tumor was so big it was pressing on his nerves paralyzing his leg. Even if we went to extreme measures to help him, he probably wouldn't survive long. They were very compassionate with Kevin, and after he made the difficult decision, they let him have some time with his friend and say goodbye. They also made a clay disk of Arrow's footprints and beak print with his name on it.
It's hard to believe how a little bird could work his way into our hearts like Arrow did. Because of him we got other birds. We lost Eddie last year, and got Stella this year. Arrow, Sparky and Stella have been a great little trio, but clearly Arrow was always the "alpha."
He was so attached to Kevin that he had little to do with the rest of us. He always knew when it was time for Kevin to come home from school and would start to get excited when that time came. When he would hear his footsteps on the porch he always knew if it was Kevin and would start to chirp and sing when it was him. He yelled at us when we did things he didn't like, would yell when I blew my nose cause he didn't like the sound, would let Kevin hold him on his back in his hand and would climb all over him when he was let out of the cage. When he went a couple of days without enough "Kevin Time" he would get grumpy and Stan would tell him to get Arrow out of the cage and give him some play time with his favorite human. Very sweet.
These are a couple of my favorite pictures of Arrow. We put AJ's Godzilla figure on the floor to see what Arrow would do. He marched right up to it and yelled at it.
Then he seemed to turn around and walk away with a "I don't have time for this nonsense" attitude. He was a big-hearted little guy with a giant personality. I know Kevin is going to miss him, but I miss him too. He was a real character. I am impressed with how these little creatures fight so hard to stay with their owners. He must have been miserable for a long time, but you would never have known.
I believe animals have spirits and know things. One of our favorite stories about Arrow was right after we got him it was General Conference. When the Mormon Tabernacle Choir started to sing, he sang along. He loved that choir and would often sing along when he would hear them. When President Hinckley started to speak, he pressed against the cage to see him. He heard the prophet's voice and wanted to see who it was.
It's sad to lose a friend. Four legged, feathered, furry and of course human. It's always painful, but it's nice to know we'll see them again.
Sparky and Arrow
