Pet Memorials
Rocky Sleeper
November 24, 2007 ~ Missed By: Kelly
My Beautiful Baby Rocky
I got Rocky when she was 5 weeks old. She was a Military Macaw. My friend and I both got our birds together from Florida. They were at that age unweened, and very young. From the very first day I knew her name was rocky and we instantly clicked. We got them checked out by Dr. Smith before we took them back individually to our own homes. I fell in love with rocky instantly. She was such a smart bird, she grew up with me constantly spending time with her and listening to music. I got her August 19th 2005 and from that day my life and happiness was blessed. It was strange.. the connection I had with Rocky. She was my daughter and I was always there for her and she was always there for me. Last summer when I went to Germany, I was gone for 2 weeks, I could hear her scream throughout the day, and I was so worried about her. I was always worried about her. I always feared that I would lose her, that I would come home and find her lying on the bottom of her cage, or that she would be caught lifeless from a toy, another period I was worried because of the area I lived in that she would be stolen from me or shot or harmed in someway. I always checked on her when I didn’t have time to, and I felt like I never had time, It was like I was trying to beat the clock, and every minute I was away from Rocky I worried about her. For a long time until now, I thought I was obsessed or just paranoid. My partner Jackie had to put up with me putting Rocky before her. Sometime in between this we decided to get another military macaw, because I wanted Rocky to have a companion We bought her from the bird shop and she was already 8 months old. Paula we named her, was quite different from Rocky, being that we missed such a large amount of her early life. Paula took to Rocky and they loved each other. Rocky would preen Paula and Rocky was the leader in the house. We ended rescuing a Jenday conure because the animal shop that had him were not taking care of him. SO we named the conure Sunny and Rocky was very accepting of adding another bird to the family. One of our pastime favorites was to eat breakfast and dinner, heck we always ate together and she always expected me to share my food. She loved going for rides in my truck and flirting with the girls at the drive thru of coffee shops. She loved music and was starting to sing. We would sing songs together driving or at home.. She loved talking and laughing. She loved screaming so loud and distracting me from my homework or any type of tasks. She hated when the phone rang or when I was on the phone talking. She called me mom and loved saying her own name.. She said words like, I love you, rocky, mom, beautifuls, dinkydows, hello, hiiiii, asshole, wassup, and just various sounds.. She was so beautiful and smart and had so much energy. She was very stubborn and dominant. She was a picky eater and knew how to get her way. She was my best friend and there when I needed a hug or kisses, she would even kiss my tears away. My fears came true.. I found her on a day I was never supposed to work and the first day I started telling myself that I need to let go of my fears and believe that she is safe. I came home early excited and happy to light a fire and put xmas lights up.. I was so much looking forward to seeing her and spending time with her. I had missed her so much this past week and felt a strong need to spend more more time with her.. Saturday November 24, 2007 she was lying on her perch, with her wing and part of her neck caught up in the rope, she died struggling to get out of her rope, ironically a rope she just used to swing around her jungle gym, I guess she started chewing on it and put a thin hole in between the large rope. I am utterly heart broken and dead inside. I feel so much regret for leaving that day, for not taking her out in the morning because I didn’t know if I was coming back the same day and didn’t want to tease her with a 5 min hello. I regret not being there to save like all the other times I felt I had. I regret losing her so soon and feel cheated out of a wonderful life with my bird daughter. She is terribly missed and I am a mess. Paula is devastated and by my surprise starting to come out of her shell and do lil things that Rocky used to do. It helps having Paula there because she is the closest being to Rocky and I am the closest person to Rocky that she has. I am having her cremated and waiting for her to be sent back home. Its only been 3 days and each day only seems to get harder. I still cant believe that my fears came true and that what I had always felt day to day that distinct motherly feeling, naturally I always I wanted to be near her to protect her, to beat that clock but I still wasn’t sure what that feeling was?. Im angry too because I feel like the moment I let go and stopped worrying was the moment and day that I lost Rocky. Please when you read this, remember not to ever take a day with any type of loved one being bird or human for granted. I know I never did with Rocky but I still have my regrets. I am getting a tattoo of her on my heart. I never liked tattoos but I want to be able to see her face and her eyes, to have her on my heart because that is where it hurts the most. I love you Rocky Sleeper. I felt closer to Rocky then my own family and she is so deeply and truly missed.
Sweet Bird
Sweet bird!
Thy bow'r is ever green,
Thy sky is ever clear;
Thou has't no sorrow in thy song,
No winter in thy year.John Logan