Unfortunately, I have to tell you another bad news. My cockatiel whom I considered as my daughter was found lifeless under the perch at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. I didn't expect it would happen because she seemed to be the same as usual when I played with her for some time and placed her in the cage at 8:00 p.m. the night before. I checked our new 100-watt pet heater if it was working properly and covered two thirds of the cage with blanket.
When I found her, the cage was not messy and her body was beautiful so I thought maybe she went to heaven without struggles. Thinking about this made me feel more relieved.
Cockatiel's life span is said to be between 15 to 20 years. Considering that she was just 8 years old, I expected that she could live with us for another 7 to 8 years.
I am a bird-lover, and my husband and I don't have children. We consider our pet birds as our children.
Yesterday, I was only shocked with what had happened but I did not really feel any sadness. But today, when I woke up, I realized that she is gone and I felt extremely sad with the fact that she's no longer here. I think that I am gradually accepting that we have lost her.
Pearl chan, the cockatiel, used to stay on my shoulder.
I had been always patient with the 100-gram burden for 8 years.
She used to stay on my shoulder for about one hour these past few days. There were times she alighted on my hand when I was typing on the computer or knitting. My eyes were focused on my hands and it was her way to attract my attention.
I will turn 50 in two weeks and feel weak these days. I was wondering if I could still go on with my life under the cold weather these days. To save electricity, my husband and I try not to use the air conditioner because our electric bill became as high as 30,000 yen or $300 a month in this season.
Just last Sunday, I wondered if I would die from heart failure because I've been eating more fatty food than I should even the fact that my cholesterol level is high. I think I need more calories to warm up my body and that's the reason I eat more fried food these days. My doctor said that I should take some medicines, but I haven't taken them yet. I know that the coldness is the worst threat of my health.
An 8 year old cockatiel is as old as a 50 year-old person, which means that we are of the same generation. However, I didn't have the slightest idea that instead of myself, she went to heaven the very next day. Some friends of mine said that she had died from cardiac infarction because it was terribly cold that night. I had taken it for granted that she would be with me on my birthday.
I took this picture in October 2015.
She even came to my pillow as if saying, "Don't take a nap, play with me."
After we buried her with her favorite food at the corner of our garden, I turned on the air conditioner in my room and took some minor tranquilizer that my doctor had given me as a prescription.
My husband suggested that we get another cockatiel to comfort me. Then, I asked him if we could take care of the bird when it would live for another 20 years. He will be 83 and I will be 70 years old then. Pet birds act like healers, but not like caregivers for us.
I still don't know if we will buy another cockatiel in the future. If I go to pet shops to find one, t would be spring time at the earliest. I don't want to buy one in the cold season like this. Small birds' health can be easily affected because they feel stressed when they have a change of environment. At the moment, I must find inspiration from my other hobbies.
P-chan, the male budgerigar, is the only pet bird we currently live with.
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