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The PDD Memorial Quilt
In loving memory of all victims of Proventicular Dilatation Disease.
Rocky
Companion... Protector... Loyal Friend
I have been a bird lover all my life and have enjoyed the companionship of more than a dozen different parrots over the past 18 years. I moved into my first apartment with my new wife and soon after we added our first rescue bird, a cherry-headed Conure, which we purchased from the owner of a local stereo shop. Soon after that, we opened our doors to an Indian Hill Mynah and a baby Blue-Fronted Amazon. We were hooked.
After moving into our first home, the "family" grew to include a Nanday Conure, Two Blue and Gold Macaws, a pair of Solomon Island Eclectus and a pair of Red-Sided Eclectus. We willingly sacrificed our entire dining room for the comfort of larger cages for our companions and eventually added a large outdoor aviary for exercise.
My wife and I deeply love our avian family and we have experienced the loss of various members of the family over the years. Our mynah succumbed to liver disease, a male Eclectus to a digestive tract infection and our 24-year-old Cherry Head was eventually claimed by heart failure. None of the losses were easy, however nothing prepared me for the loss of my "best friend" to PDD (Macaw Wasting Syndrome).
In 1994, we welcomed my "pride and joy" to our home. Rocky as we would name him, was a Central American Scarlet Macaw with the most amazing personality I have ever seen. Rocky bonded with me immediately since I was the one who finished weaning him. As he grew, so did his typical "Scarlet" temper. He was fiercely protective of me and would attack my wife or anyone else who he deemed was in our territory. Sweet and affectionate as a baby, he grew to be intelligent and quite a character.
Our "relationship" grew, as did our "friendship". I am a photographer by trade and Rocky as well as his buddy "Ace", my male Blue and Gold, traveled with me to the studio on a regular basis. Rocky eventually became the "mascot" of my studio and even was known to pen a column in our company newsletter. He appeared in promotional pictures with me and always amazed the children with his antics. He developed an extensive vocabulary, which included his daily "good morning", and the ever present screaming of my name whenever I left him alone. His affectionate "I-LUV-YOU", said as one syllable, was always welcome, as
was his willingness to accompany me everywhere.
Rocky also developed a number of tricks including retrieving a bell and ringing it to indicate it was time for a game of "tug of war". He also learned to wave "hello" using all the toes of his right foot.
This was his typical greeting to all that entered his domain. Rocky was always very active and energetic and displayed plumage that was the envy of every other bird lover I met.
Rocky had lived in our "closed" aviary which features state of the art climate control as well as hospital grade air filtration and sterilization procedures. All of our "children" visit their avian vet on a regular basis and are constantly screened for disease. In January of 2003, Rocky began to look a little thinner in build. We took him to our vet who ran the typical tests. All tests revealed a bird in extremely good health. Over the next two weeks, Rocky began to lose strength in his legs and began to have trouble climbing. All the while, he continued to "display" a healthy attitude and willingness to play.
After noticing a large amount of regurgitated food one morning, we scheduled a full series of blood work and various other
tests with the vet. Again, every test indicated perfect health. The vet placed Rocky on antibiotics and decided to wait a week before the next exam. During that week, we paid close attention to food consumption and weight levels. Rocky continued to decline. Finally he was at the point where he was sleeping at odd hours and eating heavily, only to regurgitate the food minutes later. We booked Rocky into the vet hospital ICU for a Barium series on his digestive tract. This test revealed our worst fear. Rocky was diagnosed with PDD and I began to experience what would be the worst four days of my life.
I spent hours on the Internet researching the details on PDD. I talked by phone with experts from around the country. I prayed for a miraculous cure from God above. Rocky was continuing to decline while in the ICU, but was at least being kept comfortable and was receiving nourishment. I explored the options of "tube-feeding" him to keep him for a few more months. Eventually, after reading about the mortality rate and the decline that most birds suffer, I decided to make arrangements to
have Rocky Euthanized. This beautiful creation of God was not going to suffer further indignity just to spare me the pain of losing him.
On February 6, 2003, after delaying the decision by two days, I drove to the hospital to say goodbye to my best friend. My wife and I were shown to a private room and Rocky was brought to us. He hadn't seen me in three days and was so excited he forgot that he could hardly walk and ran as best as he could into my arms. I held him close and preened his pinfeathers just as he loved me to do. He talked to me and snuggled close to my body. The warmth between us was incredible. I cried as I held him and my tears rolled onto his beak, which was tucked against my throat. He licked my tears and rested in the peace of my arms. The vet encouraged us not to be there for the actual procedure, saying that with birds it does not always go smoothly. The thought of my best friend dying alone was too much to bear and I choose to stay with him through the end.
I was not aware that I could have requested that a sedative be administered first, and unfortunately, the procedure did not go smoothly. I cried as I tried to comfort Rocky and prayed for him as he took his last breaths and closed his eyes. I could not let him go for nearly another twenty minutes. I finally wrapped him in a towel as if he was sleeping and asked to have his body cremated and kept for us. I have lost many "human" friends and relatives, but I have never known the pain that comes from loosing a "companion" to this awful disease. After several weeks of counseling by my Pastor, I have finally been able to pen this story. I now must come to terms that despite my best efforts, I may eventually lose all of my "family" to this horrific disease. I will never forget Rocky, my companion and my best friend. Those of us who share our lives with these precious creatures must commit whatever expense is necessary to isolate and find a treatment or cure for this dreaded disease. We must do it NOW.
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