RIP Phillip, you'll be missed...

WiseOwl5 said:

I haven't been on here for a while. I've been meaning to post this for a while, but couldn't find the words.

It's been a little more than 2 weeks since Phillip died. We don't know the cause, as we never had a necropsy done. He was only with us for a week, and I still miss him. His cage is still sitting exactly how it was when he died.

He had a very unique personality. He did what he wanted and didn't like when people tried to get him to do anything else. He would fly to someone, and if anyone else tried to pick him up he would lift his wings and squawk in protest. He loved to sit on my brother's laptop when he was playing games (he loved the heat coming out of the vents). When siting on the laptop, when I tried to scratch his head he would get sassy with me and say, "no" in his own way. He always knew exactly where the treat bag was, however hard I tried to hide it he'd always find it and try to get into it. He loved tearing up newspaper, he'd never play with the toys in his cage. Just the newspaper in the bottom.

To say I haven't been depressed would be lying. Even though I only knew him for a week, we bonded instantly. He was fine the day before, and the next day he was gone. I'm atheist which makes it all the more depressing.

He helped me with my mental health within days of getting him. My sleep schedule was getting better, I thought I'd be able to go off my anti-depressants. Now I don't know what to do.

The breeder has been really supportive. She said that when I'm ready for it she'd like to offer me another. I don't think another parrot could ever be the same, and I'd feel guilty about it anyway.

I don't mean to get everyone down. Snuggle your parrots for me!

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EllenD said:

I'm very sorry that this happened to you, it's never easy to lose a family member, but when someone that you love enters your life and then leaves it so quickly and so suddenly, it's hard to understand why you met them in the first place...I'm not at all religious either, never have been, I usually refer to myself as being "Agnostic", so I understand what you're talking about...

But make no mistake, God or no God, there was a very specific reason that Phillip was brought into your life, you wrote it in your initial post without even realizing it. He helped you with your mental health issues and your depression almost instantly, it took only a week of knowing him for you to consider coming-off of your anti-depressants. That's no small feat, and you know that. He was someone who you were able to bond closely with almost instantly, showing you that "true-love" does exist. He filled that week of your life with laughter, entertainment, love, and trust. And most of all, Phillip showed you just how much love and life a little Green Cheek Conure can bring into your world...So that week that you spent knowing and loving Phillip changed the rest of your life for the better. How many people can you say have done that for you?

You'll never be able to "replace" Phillip and what he brought to your life, and why would you want to...It's not necessary to "replace" Phillip. He's already there, and he'll always be there in the changes he brought in you. What you need to realize that is before you met Phillip and had him in your life, you had no idea that a little bird could alter the rest of your life for the better in the way that he did. He gave you hope, and made you believe that very difficult things were entirely possible. So I hope that you understand that Phillip will always be with you, and he would want you to use what he taught you and to not just abandon the plans that you made.

It's okay to mourn the loss of Phillip, but you don't need to ever "replace" him. What you should do though is to take advantage of what he taught you and take that breeder up on their offer...hopefully you'll be ready to do so in the near future, because it should be quite obvious to you that having a Green Cheek in your life is a very good thing. You can still be happy, you can still better your mental health and get off your meds. That's why Phillip came into your life, to show you just how much a little bird can bring to it...

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wrench13 said:

Oh ! I am sorry to hear of Philip's pasing. I toohavve siffered the loss of a loved parrot. I think the pain and sense of loss will fade a bit and if you are a parrot person, you will have another one in your life. My beloved Max passed away and I was devestated, but you know, 4 months later I met Salty, and while we still remember Maxie, Salty is a totally different parrot and all one could hope for .

Hang in there, we are here for you.

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