Ahhhh….some unexpected tears this afternoon

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Despite the disruption he caused to our lives for 32 years….the little nutbar is deeply missed. Our lives are quieter, but also emptier without him.

What a lovely and unexpected gift, from the Night Owl Bird Hospital, to find in the mail today. I came home to find that Kirk had brought a couple of packages inside but the small square box was curious to me as I’d not ordered anything but books lately. I opened it and pulled out the very well wrapped contents and saw “A gift from Dr. McDonald” and stopped.

There is only one Dr. McDonald.

Dr. Anne McDonald is known around Vancouver as The Bird Lady of Kits. If you Google her you will find many articles dedicated to her dedication:

• A day in the life of an exotic bird veterinarian
• Strictly for the birds: The people who saved almost 600 parrots
• Dr. Anne McDonald of Night Owl Bird Hospital Receives Award for Avian Care

I first met her three decades ago, during a period when I worked at a pet store in the West End. Gizmo came into our lives at that time, but he never seemed to have so much as a sniffle and seemed so indestructible until about four years ago when he had a little stroke, that he’d never been to a vet other than for boarding when we travelled. We’d let people look after the cats, but he was a different creature and had a short window for tolerance of care-givers other than us.

Day 1 was like “Oh hey, cool, you’re new, I like you!”

Day 2 would be like “Oh, hi there, you again, nice to see you again!, Let’s cuddle!”

Day 3 however….was “NOT THE MOMMY!” And the petulant, ever-present, two-year-old would appear.

Before I unwrapped the contents, I said to Kirk…”I’m probably going to cry, aren’t I.”

It’s been almost a year since we said goodbye; and yes, finding this inside brought tears.

I was trying to understand why she’d do this, and so long afterwards. Three things came to mind.

1. He was a really cool little bird and she bonded with him deeply when he was in and out of the hospital his final months. Every night he spent there she would call, sometimes at 11pm, to tell us what kind of a day he’d had, how he’d eaten, and so on. It was heard, but it was also a generous kindness on her part. She works so tirelessly and she’s not young.
2. When we lost him, we washed and cleaned his cage, a huge thing that could house a macaw (and now does), and took it as well as an oxygen concentrator that we’d purchased to help him out at home. Not a small investment in either item and we donated both, as well as a few other things, to the hospital for use with their resident birds (the cage) and to help other patients (the oxygen concentrator). I also donate clean towels and sheets whenever we buy new ones. You may not think of it, but veterinary clinics can always use linens and it’s a great thing to do with ones
3. Dr. McDonald has a clientele, and a lot of them are parrots. Parrots live a long time…..I would imagine that she euthanatizes relatively few patients relative to other veterinarians, so I also imagine that each makes a significant impact on her. She has an incredibly kind heart.

Regardless, I will have to make a visit to the clinic in the next week to pay my deepest gratitude for the gift. It was totally unexpected, and very so very much appreciated. ❤️‍🩹