He Cared Enough about Birdy and for Sophie!

I awoke on Valentine's Day with a heavy heart. I was depressed over my bad choices and my many disappointed hopes. As I laid in bed, I was hammered with memories of some cruel injustices done to me over recent years. I wanted to die.

Then, I sought escape and picked up my phone to look at the San Francisco Animal Care and Control website to see what's available for adoption. I landed on Birdy, a pied cockatiel. I took a screenshot of the ad and emailed it to several bird loving friends, and got an immediate response from one of them. I was asked to go fetch the bird for her and she would reimburse me. At first I didn't want to do it but I phoned the animal shelter to see if Birdy was still available, and he was. So I headed down there, though I was slow at getting out the door.

I came with carrier and brought Birdy home a couple hours later. I cleaned a cage to house him since his nails were overgrown and I wanted to make him more comfortable. I stayed out of the room I had him in because of my weakness of getting easily attached. My friend arrived later with her husband to pick up Birdy. It went smoothly.

Later, I got an update that they arrived home safely and clipped Birdy's nails, and changed his name to Valentine. I thought that was honorable and would help the bird to make the transition in his new home.

Then, the following evening I received a report via email that read something like this:

"I had Valentine checked at the Vet today. It turns out his wings are a lot more damaged than we thought. The left side is completely unstable probably due to a recent fracture. The right wing is all beat up and swollen but more stable overall. I don’t think he will fly anywhere anytime soon. His feces are normal. He has lots of dust and debris in his nose. Poor guy needs good showers. His blood is lipemic which makes me think he must have been on a seed diet.

"On a funny note – when we removed the leg band it clearly showed the year 1997 ! So, whoever made Valentine 4 years young has not paid attention in math class.

"I moved Valentine in with 3 mellow females who treat him well so he can recover. He started eating fine tonight, comes up to the front when I talk to him and is definitely more calm than he was this morning. We will give him time and TLC. I’m sure he will be ok in the long run."

My heart was broken as I read this but realized that this bird's life was saved on Valentine's Day and his name change marks a real turnaround, a new beginning for him.

Then, I realized that God orchestrated this event and He wanted to teach me something. He showed me how He cared for this precious bird in a wonderful way, and that He is ever so interested in caring for me, even the finest detail. That touched my heart!

 

Then later on Valentine's Day, I received word that Craig was reunited with his lost cat Sophie who was missing for over a week. I had prayer going up for him ad his missing cat, and God answered that prayer on Valentine's Day. So it was a wonderful day after all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An update on Birdy who was renamed Valentine:

He lived a short time in his new nurturing home and passed away due to heart complications. Now he is pain free and grief free in the presence of the Creator. For that only am I comforted. It is believed that he received a poor diet of just seeds most of his life which is a valuable lesson for pet bird owners. Birds need a wide variety of nutritious foods to provide a healthy life for them, besides lots of attention. For more information on birdcare I recommend you check out Mickaboo's site.

Cat-at-large Rescued to Safety

Back in 1986 while living in Grand Junction, Colorado, a white young male cat with blue collar, no ID frequented my door. I knew if I fed him, I wouldn't get rid of him. However, he kept coming anyway. So one day I finally took him to the Pound.

For the following few nights or so, I was troubled and didn't sleep well. I have never taken an animal to the Pound for fear of it being euthanized. I was determined that if the cat did not get claimed, I would adopt him. His number was 206 if I wanted him.

Well, a few days later I had a dream of encountering the woman from the Pound on the street somewhere downtown, and her telling me that the owner came and picked up the cat. Two weeks later the dream was confirmed and I did encounter the woman from the Pound somewhere in town. She recognized me and told me that a young woman on a bicycle with a cage on the back, came to claim her cat. The Pound employee told the owner that her cat was turned in by a very concerned lady. She advised the owner to keep better tabs on her cat.

I later heard from someone in the neighborhood that the cat had been getting mistreated by some people in the area. So, taking the cat to the Pound may have saved his life. I believed I was being led by the Holy Spirit to take the cat in even though I didn't realize it then, and that God revealed to me in a dream that my action was not in vain. He also cared enough for the cat to save him from his abusers.

Healed Cat

Gucci was healed as I laid hands on her in December of 1982 and she lived many years afterward and no one could explain why. God miraculously extended her life well beyond what my family predicted for her. She lived a long life.