Saving A Bird….Saving A Life

My father was an animal lover. We had dogs, cats and birds as pets at home. But that was before my birth. I have only seen dogs around me. In fact, when I was born my father brought home a baby Duchshund. Mother brought us up both together.

No wonder I am not a cat or bird person. But as fate would have it there had been two previous occasions when injured pigeons fell on my balcony and in spite of my sincere efforts to save them they succumbed. Naturally I felt terrible thereafter.

Two days back I found a baby pigeon in the space where I keep my plants. Kalu, one of my stray pets, was trying to intimidate her by pawing the fence and growling. I managed to quieten Kali and placed a bowl of water and a few grains of rice on a plastic plate near the tiny thing. After a while I found her perched on the water bowl and pecking at the grains. 

Rinky’s erstwhile dog walker is still in touch with me. He assists our local vet. I asked him to come and have a look at the poor thing. However , by this time it was apparent that she had an injured leg which was swollen. Perhaps she did not even know how to fly or just learning. Must have been accidentally separated from her mother and unable to go back to her now. However, the mother pigeon was nowhere to be seen. I had expected her to come seeking her baby but she did not. Perhaps it is not in their system of things. Unfortunately, our local vet had no experience of treating birds. The only option was to take her to a bird hospital.

Two nights passed before I could find a nearby bird hospital. These two nights were crucial because I had to save the baby from rodents and big crows. A plastic basket came in handy as a makeshift cage. A thick rug was tucked in to plug the slight gap in between the rim of the upturned basket and the ground. In the mornings I’d check  with a thumping heart whether she was still breathing.

Fortunately, one of the neighbours has a close association with a bird hospital nearby. It is maintained by the Jain community. This afternoon we delivered the baby there. What a relief!! It was really satisfying to see how well kept the hospital was – big, spacious, airy and very clean. The cages were full of chirping birds – grey and white pigeons, parrots, peacocks and many other small ones.

We were assured that the baby would be okay with proper treatment. They also informed that they’d set the bird free once she was able to fly.

Tonight I will sleep in peace. I am thankful to God that He made me an instrument to save a tiny life. It is oddly humbling and most gratifying.