Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

Fly High Little Opie

From Sandra Isobel Kyle / May Safely Graze
Facebook posting, March 27, 2024

Her high-pitched cockatiel whistle was a soundtrack in my home for all these years, and there was a lot of power behind her song. Her life force was high.

I met her when she was only a few weeks old, at the Bird Rescue I volunteered at. She perched on my finger and puffed out her chest. “Does she need a home?” I asked the Manager. “Yes” came the reply. “Do you want her?”

That was sixteen years ago. We’ve been through a lot together over the years, Opie and I. She moved with me and the other companions to three different locations, having to adjust to different environments, animals and people. Her high-pitched cockatiel whistle was a soundtrack in my home for all these years, and there was a lot of power behind her song. Her life force was high. In her early years she laid so many eggs, I felt terrible taking them away from her. Once I put her and her sister Blossom in their cage outside, and neglected to latch it properly. Blossom stayed in the cage, Opie decided to investigate the wide world.

I could hear her calling to me from tree to tree in the valley, and pursued her for days. I had just about given up hope, when after a week to the day a car pulled up outside my home. “Are you missing a cockatiel?” the woman said. “Everyone in Otorohanga is going outside and calling Opie, Opie! She landed on my deck so I knew who she was straightaway.” The power of social media.

I have a sixth sense when my animals are sick. Some years ago I just got her to the vet in time, or so he said. Yesterday morning she seemed her usually perky self, and she was perched for a couple of hours on top of my computer while I worked away. It was one of her favourite spots to fly to, along with the pelmets, the armchairs, my shoulder and my head. When I was on Zoom this week, friends in the Animal Justice Party were laughing because instead of looking at my face, they were looking at Opie’s tail.

Yesterday afternoon I put my finger out for her to climb on and noticed that her feet were unusually warm, and she was holding her wings slightly out from her body. When I put her in her cage, she climbed down and sat on the floor. I had a bad feeling.

I called friends for advice, and we talked through a few things. I ended up calling the emergency vet, who said to book her a time in the morning. The earliest appointment I could get today was 2:30pm.
I kept checking on her every few minutes all morning. At around 1pm when I went in to see her she was having a mild seizure. I knew she was dying and wanted to comfort her. I held her close but she hissed at me a few times as if to say she wanted to be alone. I placed her on the floor, with a light cover on her to see if that settled her more. It didn’t, so I picked her up again. This time she snuggled into me while I held her and told her I loved her. The spasms stopped, and moments later she had flown away from me forever.

The Vet could see nothing obvious wrong with her when I brought her in to be cremated. She was in excellent condition he said. His guess was it was heart failure, or, because of the seizing, a brain tumour.

I asked for these words to be inscribed on her plaque:

My little Opie
Entrusted to the wings of Eternity
Your song will live forever in my heart
Love, Mummy.
Goodbye my little angel. Mummy did her best for you. Please forgive her if it wasn’t good enough.

FLY (sung by Celine Dion)

Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven’s love
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
And fly again.
Fly, fly precious one
Your endless journey has begun
Take your gentle happiness
Far too beautiful for this
Cross over to the other shore
There is peace forevermore
But hold this mem’ry bittersweet
Until we meet.
Fly, fly do not fear
Don’t waste a breath, don’t shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don’t wait for me
Above the universe you’ll climb
On beyond the hands of time
The moon will rise, the sun will set
But I won’t forget.
Fly, fly little wing
Fly where only angels sing
Fly away, the time is right
Go now, find the Light.

From Sandra, April 8:

A sincere thankyou to all who sent your loving wishes to Opie and me. I read them all, with a tear in my eye, but I cannot answer individually.

All of us know the intense bond we can form with our 'pets'. The love we have for them can trigger emotions and self-blame, and I am prey to feelings that it is my fault, that I could and should have done better, every time one of my loved ones departs. I have had three companion animals leave me in three months, and am beginning to feel battered around by the Universe.

The memory of how my little girl died will never leave me, just one more soul-burden to carry as I continue through Life. You all have your own; none of us is exempt from sufferings, but we all have choices; to let go, learn, and do a better job of loving at every step of the way.

My inborn love of animals gives me insight into my work to help create a world where all beings are considered as souls, and are understood, loved and protected. I believe that every one of you who acknowledged Opie's passing so sympathetically understands they have souls, and not just sentience. We're carrying on this work together. ❤

Opie, who is now flying around on her Angel Wings, sends her love.

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