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The PDD Memorial Quilt
In loving memory of all victims of Proventicular Dilatation Disease.
My Beloved Hootie
August 21st, 2002 -- July 20th, 2003 |
Hootie joined our family right before Christmas of 2002. I already had a severe macaw, Tequila, and a Solomon Island eclectus, Fiona, and wanted a blue and gold macaw to join my small flock. Hootie and Iwere smitten with each other from the first moment we met. He made himself right at home and was soon known as the goofy and dancing blue and gold. He would go around and bob and slide all over his cage with a huge smile on his face. Hootie wasn't afraid of much and particularly liked to interact with our lab, Finn, thru the cage bars. Finn would come over by Hootie and Hootie would then begin bobbing, dancing, and making silly noises. It was such a wonderful sight to watch.
It was right after the fourth of July 2003, and Hootie just wasn't acting like his normal goofy self. I made an appointment for him to be seen by my avian vet as soon as possible. Hootie had begun vomiting and had become clumsier. The vet found out that Hootie had a bacterial infection so he was put on baytril for 2 weeks. I was to call the vet if he hadn't started eating more. By July 10th, Hootie had gone from eating better to hardly eating anything so the vet showed me how to hand feed him baby bird food with a syringe.
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Hootie loved it and took it very willingly; so I continued to hand feed him for the next couple of weeks. A couple days later during the night, Hootie had labored breathing and I made an appointment with the vet for the next morning for a recheck. By the time we got to the vet Hootie was very weak and the vet was extremely concerned. We had discussed that if Hootie didn't get better there was a chance something else could be wrong and PDD was brought up vaguely. This was all I could think of and was afraid my worst nightmare was coming true.
The vet asked to keep Hootie all day on the 15th -- they ran tests, did x-rays, kept him in an incubator, and hand fed him. Meanwhile, Hootie had perked up a lot by the end of the day and I was able to take him home with me. I stayed with him all night giving him lots of supportive care. The vet was somewhat stumped -- I brought Hootie back in the next day (July 16th) to get him weighed and checked over again. He was pretty much the same weight and the vet was
extremely happy with the care I was giving him, so I was able to keep him with me. I asked if the vet thought we were dealing with PDD and she said that we very well could be, but she couldn't say, as it could have easily been something else.
On July 18th Hootie wasn't doing as well as he should have been. The vet recommended we go to the emergency vet where there was another avian vet that would hopefully be able to help. Fifteen minutes after being there the vet came to talk to me and confirmed my worst nightmare -- she had weighed him (he had lost quite a bit of weight), looked at his x-rays and everything else my previous vet had done and then informed us that she strongly believed Hootie had PDD and that he was in the final stages. The vet said we could take him home after she had administered some medication and fluids and to
continue the supportive care at home so I could be with him. We were to come back the next day for a recheck and to start some experimental medication to see if they would help.
July 19th came and Hootie and I spent all day snuggling. We returned to the emergency vet where the vet was surprised at how much more active and perky Hootie was. She gave him some more medication and sent us home with the experimental medication that we were supposed to start the night of July 20th. It was almost dinnertime on July 20th and Hootie suddenly began panicking. I picked him up, cuddled him, and realized he was passing away. I held him close and comforted him because I knew that's what he needed -- I knew it was his time to go. I saw love and devotion in his eyes and told him I loved him dearly. Before I knew it he had passed away while cradled in my arms. My heart was completely broken but I knew he was watching over Fiona and Tequila now.
I had a necropsy done on Hootie's body where they found lesions and an enlarged proventriculus among other things that pointed to PDD. The suspected cause of death written on the results was PDD.
In a little over 2 weeks my beloved Hootie had gone from being the wonderfully funny and goofy blue and gold macaw to a very weak and ill bird that ended up losing his fight to PDD at the young age of 11 months. He will forever be in my heart.
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