Piper, our little female Starling, passed away last night.

[sked14]

We found her on the bathroom floor weak and unable to move, wife wrapped her in a hand towel and we attempted to find help for her but the local vets refused to see her, wife held Piper until she passed away.
My wife is inconsolable as she hand raised all of our birds but Piper was her favorite.

RIP Piper, you will be missed.

[alsame]

1. I'm so

sorry for your loss.

RIP, Piper, fly away over the Rainbow Bridge and be well again.

[sked14]

2. Thank you so much alsame.

This is one of the reasons I love DU so much, the compassion of the members is so profound.

[fizzgig]

3. rest easy, piper

i am so sorry for the loss of your friend

[sked14]

4. Thank you so much fizzgig.

[livetohike]

5. Rest in Peace little Piper. I'm so sorry for your loss sked14. Please give your wife a hug from me

We give our pets our love and care, but the things we get from them in return are far greater.....may all the sweet memories you have of Piper help to ease this sadness

[sked14]

6. Thank you so much livetohike.

And my wife says thank you for your kind words.

[geardaddy]

7. So sorry to hear of your loss.

It always is devastating to lose a family member.

[sked14]

8. Thank you very much geardaddy.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. Rest well, Piper.

I can understand your wife's grief. Starlings are such great birds, full of personality and they are real characters. I am sorry to hear that you lost her.



Just to help you so you don't feel like you didn't do enough because you couldn't find a vet to see her, few times can a bird be saved at that point even with a vet's care. At least you didn't put Piper through too much before trying to get help instead of just letting her go in loving hands.

[sked14]

11. Thank you so very much Curmudgeoness.

Piper was such a character, every morning at around 7:30, she would land on wife's side of the bed and either tug on her earlobe or chirp in her ear to awaken her.

At least Piper passed away in the hands of the person who loved her the most.

[LisaLynne]

10. I'm so sorry. My thoughts are with you and your wife.

RIP, Piper.

[sked14]

12. Thank you so much LisaLynne.

It means a lot.

[Phentex]

13. So sorry for your loss...

I have not read all the comments but why did the vet refuse to see her?

Hugs to you and your wife.

[sked14]

14. Thank you so very much Phentex.

Vets we contacted said they won't treat an invasive species, which they consider Starlings, Sparrows and Pigeons to be.
They said all they would do is euthanize our Piper.

[meti57b]

16. That's terrible! She was exclusively an "inside" birdie...that would not contribute to invasiveness.

[sked14]

18. We told them she was a pet, not a wild bird.

Didn't make a difference.

[meti57b]

15. Very sorry to hear this.......

May her memory be a blessing.

[sked14]

17. Thank you so much meti57b.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. I'm so sorry you lost Piper

I know it's really hard to find a vet who will work on birdies especially small ones. One of my brothers has always had a variety of birds, and thankfully he found a vet that will care for them. I think most vets don't have the expertise unless it's some very simple thing.

Hugs to you and your wife.

[sked14]

20. Thank you so very much TorchTheWithch.

[sinkingfeeling]

21. I'm so very sorry. I remember your earlier post about her.

[sked14]

22. Thank you so much sinkingfeeling.

[CitizenLeft]

23. I'm so sorry

Years ago, when we lived in a townhouse, birds nested in our dryer exhaust pipe (or whatever you call it). We heard chirping in the house one day and found 3 chicks had been sucked into the dryer. One was still barely alive, not a feather on him, they’d been sucked off of him. I took Oscar and wrapped him up, and fed him softened bird seed and hamburger. In 3 days, his feathers started growing back and he was loudly demanding food and hopping around as cocky as could be. I figured he was strong enough to take him to the wildlife preserve nearby, who agreed to take him and keep him until he could be set free. In 2 days, he was dead… the folks at the preserve think he thought I was his mama and had abandoned him. I still feel guilty thinking about it. But I could not keep him at home, it was not an option.

I know how you feel. Rest in peace, sweet little Piper.

[sked14]

24. Thank you so very much CitizenLeft.

[sked14]

25. Picture of our Piper when she was a youngster.