We Lost Our Little Black Capped Conure - Please read to save your bird

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Hi, I just joined the bird board today because I wanted to tell the story of how we lost our little black capped conure Posh last night in the hopes that something good will come of her unfortunate death.

My little sweetie was playing with her toys when my daughters and I got home last nite. Posh's cage sits between my kitchen and family room so she is always surrounded by the family. This, of course, gives us plenty of opportunities to stop by her cage, talk with her and to watch her take baths in her water dish and play with her favorite toys. She of course had plenty of out-of-cage time too and I have to believe that she had a happy life while she was with us. We've only had her since June. She was a few months old when we got her and she has definitely been taken away from us way too soon.

Anyway, all was great with Posh while the kids and I made dinner, did homework and fed the rest of the critters in our zoo. However, when I got to Posh's cage to change her water and food, to my horror, I saw her standing toward the end of her birdie tent still as can be with her eyes closed and a loop of thread off the top of the tent wrapped around her little neck. I don't know how this happened. I was hysterical and calm all at the same time as I yelled for my daughter to get the scissors. I cut the loop and grabbed Posh out of the tent and out of cage. We took her into the bathroom and toweled her, although she wasn't moving much anyway. We were able to cut the loop free since she was still, but she lay there on the towel for some time with one eye open and one eye closed. About a minute later, she jumped up and began to panic. She bit me hard on the finger several times as I tried to get her back in the towel. I could tell that even though she was "awake" there was something very wrong. She was very unsteady on her feet and seemed disoriented. Once I toweled her again, she became very still and calmed down. I'm sure you can understand that my girls (they are 8 and 11) and I were all on the edge of hysterics as we tried to talk to her, telling her to try and stay with us. At that point, I honestly still thought that she would pull out of this and since she now seemed more alert, we put her back into the cage while I went to call my husband at work. Once in the cage, she climbed to her favorite sleeping spot and hung onto the bars (we had removed the tent). As she climbed though, I could tell that every move had considerable thought put into it before the move was made. Everything seemed very slow and deliberate. My thoughts now are that she was without oxygen long enough that she had disturbed some of her motor functions. She stayed in her sleeping spot for a little while and everything seemed to be okay. But then she fell off the bars to the bottom of the cage. I picked her up and gently toweled her again and sat with her at the kitchen table. She was just lying on her side with her eyes closed, but I could still see her breathing. She even opened her eyes several times while we talked to her and held her. My husband was rushing home, but she passed away before he got there.

Fortunately, I put my 8 year old to bed before she passed so she didn't have to see her go. As it was, it was unbearable for my other daughter and I and we held each other as we both stroked her tiny head and back and said our goodbyes and told her how much we loved her. My husband buried Posh in our back yard last nite along with her favorite toy. I know she is safe and healthy and not in any pain where she is now, but I am hurting so much because I would much rather have her here with us.

I wrote this partly to be in the comfort of others who have lost their beloved pets, but also to suggest that anyone that uses this type of tent (ours was the plush kind that you can buy at PETCO) to get rid of it immediately! Posh was not a chewer and there were never any loose threads on the tent before this. The tent itself was right above the water and food dish so I saw it many times a day and I had never seen a single pulled thread. I don't know how quickly she caught the fuzzy plush and pulled the fibers out or how she became tangled in it, but I can only imagine how horrible it was for her to be caught like she was. I can't even describe how responsible I feel or how much my heart hurts at the loss of our baby.

I know that all toys are only supposed to be given to animals under supervision, but this tent is intended to be slept in and we are not watching the birds all night while they sleep. The manufacturer's imply its safety during sleep or nesting simply because it's supposed to be a place for the bird to nest. I want as many people to know about this accident as possible so that they can take proper precautions for the safety of their bird. It seems that Posh only had to chew at it a little bit, or maybe her foot was caught and pulled the fibers on the top of the tent when she was lying on her back (like she often did). In any case, what should have been a safe place for her wasn't once that thread became loose.

Feel free to cut and paste Posh's story and send it to your friends with birds so that they will know what can happen in even a brief amount of time with these tents.

Thanks for listening.
r,
Heidi

[Tommaso]

I am so sorry for you and your families loss. My heart breaks. It is very kind of you to share your story so we all can be kept up to date of the accidents that can happen. Just know that Posh had the very best care. It's sad when they have to leave us, but take comfort that Posh is not suffering and your family enjoyed the time you had with him. Again, I am very sorry.

Morena

[svolk]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It was hard even reading your story without tearing up so I can only imagine the pain you and your family are in. As hard as it is, thank you for telling us this story which may very well same some lives. I'm a believer that all things happen for a reason and I do believe that Posh was with your family for a reason. Try not to blame yourself.

[Kiwi1224]

Heidi -- I write this with tears in my eyes...I'm so very sorry for you and your family. thank you for sharing your story as it had to be extremely painful for you to write. Debbie

[Snowy]

I am very sorry to hear about Posh.
Thank you for taking the time to let us know about the dangers.

If you feel up to it, please consider alerting the manufacturer of the tent as well.
They, hopefully, will take it into consideration to prevent such tragedies in the future.

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

I want to thank everyone so much for all of your kind words. It does give me great comfort to know that you all understand how hard this is. Although I could share this story with my friends that don't have birds (or even other pets), they can't fully appreciate the magic and joy that these little guys bring to your life and the painful sense of loss that comes when one of them leaves you. I've been paying lots of extra attention tonight to my four other birds and showing them even more love than normal (if that's possible) just so that they will know how much we care for them in case they too ever leave us before their time.

I did stop at my local Petco today to get the name of the manufacturer as well as their web site off the package. It's funny, but the package has a disclaimer on the back saying that you should never leave the bird unattended while they play with "this toy". I still don't see that it's a toy at all. I am planning on writing a letter to the company to tell them Posh's story and ask that they reconsider the plush material that they use for their "Happy Hut". If you are interested in writing to them too, the name of the company is Multipet International. The website is Multipet International, Inc..

Thank again everyone. Although we lost Posh, I've found lots of new friends today. I was right -- something good has come of this.

Hugs,
Heidi

[Lisa B]

I am so very sorry to hear of your loss.

[catschair]

Heidi,
My heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Thanks to you and Plush for sharing with us. I hope you will stay a part of our family.

[janejacinto]

So sorry for your loss. Many a bird has died because of tents. I just hate that they still sell them.
Jane

[Tiki]

Heidi, I am so sorry for your loss. That is absolutely heartbreaking. RIP little Posh.