She was a fully feathered handfeeding baby Goffin's cockatoo.
Her body lay unresisting in the hands of the comforter.
Her mouth and tongue were parched.
The stitches holding the throat together were removed.
A q-tip probe passed down through the baby's mouth was visible from the outside, down to the mass of raw flesh where her crop should have been. She had no esophagus from under her jaw to the hole that was her crop.

Please don't buy or sell unweaned babies.

The healer's skill was futile; but he could offer repose and peace and death and absence of pain.
She was helped across the Rainbow Bridge by lethal injection.
She slept so peacefully under the anesthetic but her body reacted violently to her impending death.
Her body knew it was dying even as she slept.

Please don't buy or sell unweaned babies.

I think often of her.
Although in life she never belonged to me or any who read her story, she belongs to all of us in death.
Those of us who are touched by her death will rejoice with her when we cross the Rainbow Bridge.
She will belong to us all at last.

Please, please don't buy or sell unweaned babies.

* WARNING *
... these photos ARE distressing to those that care about feathered companions; however, photos of the damage caused by crop burn can be viewed by clicking here.