The necropsy was done the day after Muse died. It was very apparent once they took a look inside the little bird what had happened. First her heart was twice the size it should have been. Between that and the bruising that was apparent on her heart, it would appear that sometime overnight (Sunday to Monday) she had a stroke. That is why we found her lame on the bottom of the cage.
From there, it was just too much for her little heart. As the vet said "she had a cardiac episode that ended her life". So, I guess her poor little heart just couldn't handle it. Most cockatiels live between 20-30 years. We have no idea how old she was, but we don't think she was really that old. She apparently just had some genetic defects that caused her precious life to be short.
We do know that she was rescued from a breeder/hoarder situation. That probably had a lot to do the the genetic defects. Very sad.
Her presence is very much missed. One big difference is that when Hubby walked in the door form work in the evenings, she would cheep so loud he could hear her in the garage before he opened the door to the house! She would start as soon as the garage door opened.
Piglet is doing ok. She seems so lonely. I notice that now if we have the TV on in the room where the bird cage is, she watches it. She "peeps" for a few hours each afternoon now, and it's very sad and depressing sounding.
We are heading up to the Gabriel Foundation this weekend to see if we can't find a friend for Piglet. Cockatiels are flock birds, they like being with friends. So we will take Piglet with us to see if we can find someone she can get along with!
Well, time to go and feed our one bird...
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Muse
Our day was rather unexpected. During our morning routine Hubby and I noticed Muse was missing from the cage. We both walked over and noticed she was on the bottom of the cage, hiding in the corner. Hubby took a look and she was holding her leg up. So, we got her in the bird carrier, called the vet, and Hubby headed off to the vet while I took Courtney to school.
At the vet they took x-rays. They didn't see anything broken, or any tumors, that could cause the injury. The vet gave her a shot of anti-inflammatory. He instructed us to take her home, keeping her in the carrier so she couldn't fly or perch, and keep her quiet for 24 hours.
Hubby brought her home and set her up so she and Piglet could see each other. She was awake and settled when Hubby left. (that was about 8:30am).
I went to work, and after I picked Courtney up at school, stopped at my mom's work, and came home, it was about 12:30. As soon as I saw her I knew. Muse had passed away.
I called Hubby and told him what was up. He immediately came home from work. I called the vet to ask how to handle the situation. After we determined what we were going to do, we got the girls together to tell them. We got Muse out of the carrier and let them look and touch. We then wrapped her in a small fleece blanket and Courtney and Hubby took her to the vet. Courtney carried her the whole way.
We are going to have a necropsy done to try and figure out what happened. It was all so sudden. Last night we were watching her play with a toy. 12 hours later, she was gone.
Piglet seems pretty lost right now. She certainly wanted some attention this afternoon, and she got plenty. Hopefully soon we can get another friend for her.
Muse was such a great bird. She was the one who loved to be pet. I can just see her up in Heaven, sitting on God's arm, bumping her head against his finger to get petted, just like she did with us.
She certainly had a favorite human. That was Hubby. If she was out of the cage, and Hubby was somewhere on the main floor, she would somehow, someway, get herself onto his shoulder. It usually took her some doing because we kept her wings clipped, but she always managed. That is certainly where she was happiest.
I am so thankful I took the time to stop and pet her for a few minutes this morning before we headed out the door. I loved petting her, getting scratched under her neck was her favorite.
She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
At the vet they took x-rays. They didn't see anything broken, or any tumors, that could cause the injury. The vet gave her a shot of anti-inflammatory. He instructed us to take her home, keeping her in the carrier so she couldn't fly or perch, and keep her quiet for 24 hours.
Hubby brought her home and set her up so she and Piglet could see each other. She was awake and settled when Hubby left. (that was about 8:30am).
I went to work, and after I picked Courtney up at school, stopped at my mom's work, and came home, it was about 12:30. As soon as I saw her I knew. Muse had passed away.
I called Hubby and told him what was up. He immediately came home from work. I called the vet to ask how to handle the situation. After we determined what we were going to do, we got the girls together to tell them. We got Muse out of the carrier and let them look and touch. We then wrapped her in a small fleece blanket and Courtney and Hubby took her to the vet. Courtney carried her the whole way.
We are going to have a necropsy done to try and figure out what happened. It was all so sudden. Last night we were watching her play with a toy. 12 hours later, she was gone.
Piglet seems pretty lost right now. She certainly wanted some attention this afternoon, and she got plenty. Hopefully soon we can get another friend for her.
Muse was such a great bird. She was the one who loved to be pet. I can just see her up in Heaven, sitting on God's arm, bumping her head against his finger to get petted, just like she did with us.
She certainly had a favorite human. That was Hubby. If she was out of the cage, and Hubby was somewhere on the main floor, she would somehow, someway, get herself onto his shoulder. It usually took her some doing because we kept her wings clipped, but she always managed. That is certainly where she was happiest.
I am so thankful I took the time to stop and pet her for a few minutes this morning before we headed out the door. I loved petting her, getting scratched under her neck was her favorite.
She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Christmas and Pinecones
Well, the holidays are finally over and we are now officially done hosting parties! YAY! Now just need to get my house back in order and all will be well.
Let's see, Christmas Eve dinner was here at our house. We had purchased a prime rib (standing rib roast) a few days before and had been dry aging it in our fridge. Christmas Eve morning we put it on the smoker. I took the girls to the Children's service at church. They do a super cute service for the kids at 10:30am. They give out costumes to the kids attending, they have angel costumes, wise men costumes and shepherds. Courtney dressed up as an angel, as did her friend Hailey, we sat with her and her family. When it's time for the angels to come in the story, all the angels go to the front of the sanctuary, and when it's time for the shepherds and the wise men, those kids join in too. There were about 100 kids at the front of the church by then end. It was so cute. We sing a few Christmas carols and have a short service and then it's over. 30 minutes total, which is great for all the young kids!
From there it was a few errands (mostly delivering gifts) and then home. Once we were home and settled, I figured it was time to start preparing for that night's dinner. I got out all of the stuff to make cheesy zucchini. Hubby came over to help. He decided to slice the zucchini for me. He got out his new Pampered Chef simple slicer and began to slice. About 2 inches into the first zucchini he slipped and cut the pad of his thumb instead. Gave himself a pretty good slice. He immediately rinsed it off and once he did that, he applied pressure. An hour later, it was still bleeding pretty good. So, off to urgent care he went, by himself, in his car, which is a stick shift.
So, now Hubby is at Urgent Care and I am home with the girls, a standing rib roast on the smoker and the rest of dinner to prepare. Hubby finally decided that it probably would not be a good idea for him to try and drive himself home, so he asked me to call my mom or Zak and ask them to come drive him home. So, they left their house earlier than planned and dropped Zak off with Hubby to bring him home when he was done. Hubby ended up with 8 stitches. We figured out later that he should have probably had 9, so a steri-stip was added.
It ended up working out just right. Hubby and Zak arrived home just as I pulled the roast and other food out of the oven! Zak was able to assist with cutting slices of the prime rib for everyone and we all sat down and had a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner together.
After our fabulous dinner, we went caroling. Of course, only to one house, but Courtney had been dying to go caroling, so this appeased her desire. We went to John and Lisa's house across the street. They were having a large Christmas Eve party which we then invaded on as well (they had a heads up earlier that week that we would be caroling). We were there for the Christmas trivia game. We divided into 4 teams (Lisa divided us, so it was fair) and had to answer about 25 Christmas related questions. Good times.
We finally got the girls in bed and asleep, after cookies and milk were put out for Santa. I think we actually didn't get woken up until about 7am the next morning, not too bad! The girls had a ball opening all their gifts the next morning. Kasey had asked Santa for candy canes and so he had brought her a big box of them. Courtney asked her for several things including a large ball and some jewelry. Santa left those for her as well! She was very excited.
After the we all opened the gifts and the girls played a bit, they were ready to head out. So, as usual we headed to the zoo. We fed the giraffes, and saw a few other animals. I think we spent about an hour there. Then we headed to Nana's and Papa's house.
There we opened gifts, snacked and then had dinner. It was a great time. I think we finally headed for home about 8pm. It was a wonderful two days.
The next day was my birthday, and we had plans to spend the night in Denver, just Hubby and I. Our babysitter arrived about noon and we headed out. Our first stop was Ikea to get a new kitchen table. So, we wondered around for a few hours, enjoying the sites inside Ikea, and picking out our new table.
After we got our new table in the car, we headed to Park Meadows mall and I got myself a new pair of jeans that were pricy, but hey, it was my birthday! From there we checked into the Ritz Carlton. Yes, you read that right, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, we used Marriott points so we didn't have to pay for anything. It was so nice, I told Hubby he was spoiling me and I am going to never want to stay in any other hotel.
We used their free car service to go to dinner at a nearby delicious sushi restaurant. And then they came and picked us up when we were done! Once we got back to the hotel, we had a nightcap in their bar before heading for bed.
The next morning we stopped at a breakfast place nearby. Apparently Guy Ferri from Diners, Drive-in's and Dives filmed an episode there. He apparently loved their green chili. I had some sort of dish that also had the chili on it, and it was very tasty. From there it was back home and back to reality.
When we opened out boxes to build our tables, we found the tabletop was cracked. So, the next day I drove back to Ikea to swap it out for a new one. It's a very long story, but we finally have a whole table, put together will all the pieces. Finally, as of about 2 days ago.
Anyway, we also had our typical New Year's party here. This year we invited more people and we had more people actually RSVP to come! So, we had 40-50 people here on New Year's. The next morning our house was trashed beyond belief, so we spent days cleaning up.
We had our first parent/teacher conference with Courtney's teacher. They say she is doing great! No complaints.
Life is back to normal; school, work, etc. Then 2 days ago, a slight change. Our family expanded by 1 hedgehog. Yes, we now have a pet hedgehog! I have wanted one for years. I have researched them, and was really hoping someday it would just work out right. Wouldn't you know on Thursday this past week, it worked out that we rescued a hedgehog. I would have never have bought one, I was waiting to rescue one and I did! Courtney named her Pinecones. Such a good name for a prickly hedgehog. She has only been in our home for 3 days and she has just wormed her way into our hearts. She is so cute! She is still getting to know us, and us her.
That is about the last month in a very small nutshell. Gotta go and work on cleaning and laundry. Hugs to all.
Let's see, Christmas Eve dinner was here at our house. We had purchased a prime rib (standing rib roast) a few days before and had been dry aging it in our fridge. Christmas Eve morning we put it on the smoker. I took the girls to the Children's service at church. They do a super cute service for the kids at 10:30am. They give out costumes to the kids attending, they have angel costumes, wise men costumes and shepherds. Courtney dressed up as an angel, as did her friend Hailey, we sat with her and her family. When it's time for the angels to come in the story, all the angels go to the front of the sanctuary, and when it's time for the shepherds and the wise men, those kids join in too. There were about 100 kids at the front of the church by then end. It was so cute. We sing a few Christmas carols and have a short service and then it's over. 30 minutes total, which is great for all the young kids!
From there it was a few errands (mostly delivering gifts) and then home. Once we were home and settled, I figured it was time to start preparing for that night's dinner. I got out all of the stuff to make cheesy zucchini. Hubby came over to help. He decided to slice the zucchini for me. He got out his new Pampered Chef simple slicer and began to slice. About 2 inches into the first zucchini he slipped and cut the pad of his thumb instead. Gave himself a pretty good slice. He immediately rinsed it off and once he did that, he applied pressure. An hour later, it was still bleeding pretty good. So, off to urgent care he went, by himself, in his car, which is a stick shift.
So, now Hubby is at Urgent Care and I am home with the girls, a standing rib roast on the smoker and the rest of dinner to prepare. Hubby finally decided that it probably would not be a good idea for him to try and drive himself home, so he asked me to call my mom or Zak and ask them to come drive him home. So, they left their house earlier than planned and dropped Zak off with Hubby to bring him home when he was done. Hubby ended up with 8 stitches. We figured out later that he should have probably had 9, so a steri-stip was added.
It ended up working out just right. Hubby and Zak arrived home just as I pulled the roast and other food out of the oven! Zak was able to assist with cutting slices of the prime rib for everyone and we all sat down and had a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner together.
After our fabulous dinner, we went caroling. Of course, only to one house, but Courtney had been dying to go caroling, so this appeased her desire. We went to John and Lisa's house across the street. They were having a large Christmas Eve party which we then invaded on as well (they had a heads up earlier that week that we would be caroling). We were there for the Christmas trivia game. We divided into 4 teams (Lisa divided us, so it was fair) and had to answer about 25 Christmas related questions. Good times.
We finally got the girls in bed and asleep, after cookies and milk were put out for Santa. I think we actually didn't get woken up until about 7am the next morning, not too bad! The girls had a ball opening all their gifts the next morning. Kasey had asked Santa for candy canes and so he had brought her a big box of them. Courtney asked her for several things including a large ball and some jewelry. Santa left those for her as well! She was very excited.
After the we all opened the gifts and the girls played a bit, they were ready to head out. So, as usual we headed to the zoo. We fed the giraffes, and saw a few other animals. I think we spent about an hour there. Then we headed to Nana's and Papa's house.
There we opened gifts, snacked and then had dinner. It was a great time. I think we finally headed for home about 8pm. It was a wonderful two days.
The next day was my birthday, and we had plans to spend the night in Denver, just Hubby and I. Our babysitter arrived about noon and we headed out. Our first stop was Ikea to get a new kitchen table. So, we wondered around for a few hours, enjoying the sites inside Ikea, and picking out our new table.
After we got our new table in the car, we headed to Park Meadows mall and I got myself a new pair of jeans that were pricy, but hey, it was my birthday! From there we checked into the Ritz Carlton. Yes, you read that right, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. Of course, we used Marriott points so we didn't have to pay for anything. It was so nice, I told Hubby he was spoiling me and I am going to never want to stay in any other hotel.
We used their free car service to go to dinner at a nearby delicious sushi restaurant. And then they came and picked us up when we were done! Once we got back to the hotel, we had a nightcap in their bar before heading for bed.
The next morning we stopped at a breakfast place nearby. Apparently Guy Ferri from Diners, Drive-in's and Dives filmed an episode there. He apparently loved their green chili. I had some sort of dish that also had the chili on it, and it was very tasty. From there it was back home and back to reality.
When we opened out boxes to build our tables, we found the tabletop was cracked. So, the next day I drove back to Ikea to swap it out for a new one. It's a very long story, but we finally have a whole table, put together will all the pieces. Finally, as of about 2 days ago.
Anyway, we also had our typical New Year's party here. This year we invited more people and we had more people actually RSVP to come! So, we had 40-50 people here on New Year's. The next morning our house was trashed beyond belief, so we spent days cleaning up.
We had our first parent/teacher conference with Courtney's teacher. They say she is doing great! No complaints.
Life is back to normal; school, work, etc. Then 2 days ago, a slight change. Our family expanded by 1 hedgehog. Yes, we now have a pet hedgehog! I have wanted one for years. I have researched them, and was really hoping someday it would just work out right. Wouldn't you know on Thursday this past week, it worked out that we rescued a hedgehog. I would have never have bought one, I was waiting to rescue one and I did! Courtney named her Pinecones. Such a good name for a prickly hedgehog. She has only been in our home for 3 days and she has just wormed her way into our hearts. She is so cute! She is still getting to know us, and us her.
That is about the last month in a very small nutshell. Gotta go and work on cleaning and laundry. Hugs to all.
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