Update -
Today at around 8pm PST pogo passed away while I held him. He had seemed to come around, but apparently his time was up.
I think I will share with you all his little, and short, story:
I got pogo about 9 months ago. I was the livestocck manager (I just HATE the word livestock) at one of the chain pet stores here and was checking on some new arrivals in the quarantine room. I was making sure everyone had food and water and seemed happy. I checked some guinea pigs and mice and a few new finches. I got to the budgie cage and right off I saw a small blue budgie sitting on a perch.
There were about three other blue budgies in that cage (all were blue), but the little blue one stood out. He was noticably smaller than the others, and was sitting on one leg, singing with his little faint voice at the top of his lungs.
Everything seemed alright so I went about the other things I had to do. The little blue budgie though stuck out in my mind, and I asked one of the girls in my department if she had seen him. She said "what, the little one?" (for some reason i remember that) and i said yes. She commented on how adorable he looked sitting there with one little leg tucked up.
I thought that was odd that he always seemed to have one leg tucked up under him, and always the same one. I went back and took a closer look at him (picked him up) and looked to see maybe there was a cut on his tucked up foot or something. There I found his little perfectly healed over stump. I looked and examined it very closely, and kissed his head (he didnt bite or anything), then put him back in the cage. Such a good little patient he was!
I went and found one of the other managers and asked her to come see something. She was usually at the front of the store, but really loved going to the back rooms (to see the new critters in the quarantine room as well as in the sick room).
I brought her in and asked her to look at the new budgies and tell me if she saw anything odd. She said the one was small, but other than that they seemed fine. I opened the cage and took him out and showed her the stump.
Her face went white and she said that he would be sent back and killed because he was "unsellable". I replied saying "like he!! I will send this little guy to death!" and we plotted for a moment or two about what we could do.
We decided that one of us would have to bring him home at the end of the day. Seeing as she had nothing to put him in (no cage) and no idea how to take care of a bird, that left me. I already had two budgies and a lovebird and really was not planning on another bird. But, I took him home and before I got home was absolutely smitten with him.
He fit in instantly (but was kept in his own little quarantine at my house) and when he got to meet the others he was just thrilled, as were they. I ended up naming him Pogo (one leg hehe) and that was it. He eventually moved in with the other two budgies, and they all got along well. About a week later my lovebird Pix came my way (he was a rescue).
They got along well that is until my female budgie decided to go on a killing spree. One day she was being very aggressive to the boys, nipping their feet, trying to bite them etc. Because of this I was getting together a cage for the boys to be in and the female (Bonnie) took Clyde (the male) and flung him to the floor of the cage and he died almost instantly from a broken neck. I saw this happen and got very upset. He turned over and looked at me and died. It was very very fast. Bonnie then went towards Pogo and I reached in and grabbed him, right as Bonnie just about had her beek on him.
I held Pogo (who held on for dear life with his beak and foot) and put him in the "vet cage", a small white travel cage that is way too small for any bird to LIVE in. I got one of my other "spare" cages and set it up for him, and he loved his 'house'. He roosted around like it was a palace, and just did so so well! He got a little bigger, ate better and just loved life.
He made friends with the lovebirds and they would tease and sing to him all the time. He, in his little but proud "voice", would sing back as loud as he could, and fluff up and dance around with Pix (who is a real entertainer).
Everything was fine (although sad since Clyde died) and they were happy and their normal birdy selves.
Then, this past Friday I noticed Pogo was behaving oddly. I posted on here for the first time a couple days later. He seemed to come back around (I thought maybe he was just hanging out or something I dont know) and seemed to be abck to his normal Pogo self. Singing, dancing with Pix everything.
It was a nice warm day today and the sun was beaming into the room so I opened the window for some fresh air and they love singing to the outside birds.
I went along doing what I had to do, going from time to time to see them and visit them and chat to them and all that. The last time, at around 8PM, I went to visit them I noticed Pogo on the bottom again, but this time his wings were slightly open, and he was REALLY fluffy. I touched him and he barely moved. This is when the tears started.
I picked him up and held him close to my chest in my hand and he mved a llittle, looked up, tilted his head, closed his eyes and passed. The lovebirds stopped singing and with Bonnie looked over and were perfectly quiet.
Pix and Serentiy (p/f lovebirds) scrambled over to the corner of their cage and eye-balled him and were doing single little tweets, the ones they did to see if he was wanting to play around. I told them "he doesnt hear you anymore. He is sleeping now" and they seemed to get it. Bonnie was not really interested (shes not really into other birds).
I held him and just talked softly to him stroking his feathers and crying.
Then, when I was finished saying my buh byes, I got a small milk carton, some green tissue paper, made a little paper nest and put him in the carton. He is buried beside Clyde under a big old tree in the back. I think I will plant some wild flowers there.
So my little Pogo is gone, and my heart is broken, but I really am thankful to have had as much time with him as I did. He had a really hard start in life, and I hope I did the best for him while he was mine to do for.
and your fids of course
