On this day one year ago, our friend Lennie made his way to rainbow bridge.
Lennie Dennie
Always in our thoughts.
Love you very much.
♥♥♥
Category: Lennie
A New Year
The new year is upon us & it prompts me to reflect on that just gone.
It was a turbulent year with the loss of both Perry & Lennie. Perry had a multitude of health issues but his calm navigation of them & his constant ability to overcome them, resulted in my experiencing his loss as sudden & unexpected. Equally, I was not expecting to lose Lennie so soon either, though on reflection, it made sense that he chose to be with Perry, rather than fight to stay here. Some comfort can be gained from knowing they were not apart for long & are surely happy being together, even in another realm.
Perry. Moriarty & Lennie
Lennie, Perry & Moriarty
Lennie, Perry & Moriarty
Lennie, Moriarty & Perry
Perry, Lennie & Moriarty
Of course life goes on. Fortunately for a lonesome Moriarty, I had Frediano & Finkleberry waiting in the wings. Moriarty has proved to be friendly, welcoming & sociable with his new friends, which is, I confess, not really a surprise to me!
Over the months, similarities with Perry & Lennie have developed in the relationships. Moriarty appears to favour Frediano in the more romantic sense, as he did Perry. Frediano, like Perry, is pretty laid back & not much into flying or playing with toys. Equally, Finkleberry has taken on the Lennie role with Moriarty by filling those playing & flying gaps. Finkleberry is also an avid bather, just like Lennie was. That is where the similarities end.
Moriarty, Finkleberry & Frediano
Finkleberry, Moriarty & Frediano
Frediano, Moriarty & Finkleberry
Moriarty, Finkleberry & Frediano
Moriarty, Finkleberry & Frediano
Naturally, every budgie has a unique personality. Frediano, unlike Perry, has, dare I say it, a mean streak! He is not big on sharing & also suffers from FOMO (fear of missing out) that leads him to barge his way into situations that he is not even interested in! He also has the hen-like tendency to shred his vegetables.
Finkleberry, unlike Lennie, does not appear to suffer from anxiety, though I believe their previous home left both him & Frediano with some trust issues. Though Frediano & Finkleberry lived together for at least a year, they do not appear to have a particularly strong bond (unlike Perry & Lennie). The two of them do still sleep overnight in the same cage (without any prompting) so are clearly friends, but I do sense they enjoy the freedom here to have space between each other when they choose.
So, after the upheaval of 2023, I am hoping 2024 will bring us calmness, peace & no drama at all!
Happy New Year to you all!
⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺
Remembering Perry & Lennie on their Adoption Day
This time last year, when I celebrated 6 years of having Perry & Lennie in my life, I never thought for a moment that this year both would have gone to Rainbow Bridge. Yes, Perry had a lot of health issues in his later years but he somehow managed to power on through them all, until February when he finally left us. Losing Lennie so soon after Perry was painful but I could not help but think of him joining his best friend. Perry was Lennie’s rock – always there to provide the consistency & stability that Lennie needed.
They were very different characters – Perry’s laid back style complimented Lennie’s more hesitant nature. The video I have chosen for this day is of them both during quarantine. You can see how comfortable & loving they were with each other.
It was my absolute honour to share my life with these beautiful boys. I loved every minute (yes, even all the worry & drama!) of having them.
Missing my blue boys.
Always in our thoughts.
♥♥♥
My Policy
Since 2012, I have operated a policy regarding increasing the flock.
The idea is that when the flock is reduced to two, I increase it. The purpose is to not have one bird left on their own. This was born out of a situation decades ago, when I had two budgies, Albert & Pete. When Albert died, Pete suffered grief & it took him about six months to overcome it. Certainly, each bird is an individual & will react differently to losing a friend, so that needs to be considered.
Since starting this blog, it was when I lost the two girls, Atilla & Raspy, that I decided Cagney & Bezukhov needed ‘backup’, at which point I introduced Phineas. We have been rolling along on that policy since.
On recently losing Perry, being left with Lennie & Moriarty, I knew it was time to increase the flock. Given their characters, I could not see either of them coping well should one of them be left on their own. So, 16 days after Perry’s passing, on the 14th of March, I rehomed two new birds. Lennie & Moriarty were unaware of their presence as they were immediately put into quarantine in my bedroom.
As readers of this blog know, on the day I brought the new boys home, Lennie became ill, sadly leaving us three days later. This left Moriarty on his own, still unaware of his potential new friends in the other room. Moriarty has proved to be resilient, but definitely sad to be alone. In times of bereavement, I try to keep routines the same, but it was difficult & clearly nothing was the same. It took Moriarty about two weeks before he ventured into Lennie’s empty cage. He flew less & less. His obsession with mirrors increased to the point he spent most of his time sitting holding onto the purple mirror. It was hard to keep his spirits up. Although he has always been happy to interact with me (liking any attention), he clearly needed feathery company.
My Policy was never needed more. I was glad I had already brought it into play, though quarantine, in the present circumstances, could not be over quick enough.
Lennie’s Last Day
Following on from my previous post (click here), we had a 1pm appointment with the vet on the 17th of March, which meant another 50 minute car ride which seemed extra bumpy this time (click here to read about the previous vet visit). On examination, Lennie had lost 2g (now 60g) & also had a temperature. This mirrored when he was ill in October 2021 (Click here to read that post). This time, along with a crop feed, the vet administered antibiotics & an anti-inflammatory to get his temperature down. I was also given these medications to give to him from the next day.
We arrived home around 14:20. I got Lennie back into his cage where he settled on the triangle perch. Moriarty briefly went in to say hello, but seemed to understand that Lennie did not really want to be disturbed. It was about an hour later when I noticed Lennie was on the platform perch. I was not too concerned as he used to like to sit there & play with the chewy toy. At one point, Moriarty went over to the platform perch to chat with him. However, as time went on, something did not seem right. It looked like Lennie was there because the flat platform was more comfortable than a perch. By 4pm, I was seriously worried.
I will skip over the more distressing aspects, suffice to say, I knew the end was coming. By 16:45, I was holding Lennie in my hands & telling him that we loved him. I told him that I had loved every second of his stay here. I thanked him for being such a wonderful boy. I did not want him to prolong any agony by resisting the inevitable, so towards the end, I told him it was ‘time to rest’. At 17:10, he died.
My beautiful boy left us. Just 19 days after his beloved friend Perry.
While this was happening, Moriarty was in his old cage, beside his mirror, completely silent. Immediately after, when I went over to him, Moriarty looked concerned & worried.
He knew he had lost another friend.
Moriarty & Lennie eating dried grass
Lennie
Lennie
Lennie
Lennie
We love you, Lennie.
So sorry you could not stay longer, but at least you are reunited with your best friend, Perry. 💙💙
Nineteen Days
When Perry left us, Lennie decided he was not going to eat from the seed pots. He carried on eating, just not from those pots. This appeared to be an initial indication of grief.
Birds do indeed feel grief so I kept an eye on both Lennie & Moriarty’s behaviour. Lennie had been with Perry all his life & had never spent one night away from him. Equally, Moriarty loved Perry & would no doubt miss all the flirting sessions & sharing of food. Rightly or wrongly, I tried to keep to the original routine as much as possible.
Four evenings after Perry left us, just before 10pm, Lennie seemed extra restless in his cage. Both were locked up for bedtime (separately – sticking with the old routine), with the big covers over them. I wondered if perhaps Lennie was ready to stay overnight with Moriarty. I lifted the covers & opened the small doors on both cages. Immediately, Lennie ran in to be with Moriarty. This was a big step for both of them as Moriarty has always slept overnight on his own. Maybe this was the time? I recalled the difficulty Bezukhov had on losing his best buddy Cagney, not wanting to sleep alone, but struggling to share with Phineas (Click here to read that story).
Lennie
Lennie
Lennie
Lennie
Both Lennie & Moriarty seemed a bit surprised & subdued by the sudden turn of events. Unfortunately, Lennie did not fully settle & at around 23:15, I opened the cage doors again, to give him a choice to stay or leave, & with no hesitation he ran out. It clearly did not feel quite right for him. However, he got to his door, peered inside, then turned around on the door platform so he was facing the room. He looked up at me with a confused expression that seemed to say, “I don’t want to be in there alone.” It broke my heart. He did not feel at home in Moriarty’s & now he did not feel at home in his own cage without Perry. With some encouragement he went in but though he continued to feel unsettled, he never attempted another overnight stay with Moriarty.
Some days after the above events, Lennie also developed a strange head movement that was most noticeable when he ate millet that I offered. You can see this in the video below:
Lennie had also started his spring moult. All these things were manageable until, on the 14th of March, Lennie stopped eating. Continue reading “Nineteen Days”
Lennie has left us
It is with great sadness that I report my beautiful boy Lennie has left us.
We had returned from a vet visit. Shortly after, he rapidly took a turn for the worse. He died in my hands. In his last moments, I was able to tell him how much we loved him… That I loved every second of every day that he spent with us… What a wonderful companion he was… I thanked him for everything, for just being Lennie.
My only consolation is that he only spent 19 days without his beloved friend Perry.
His loss is great.
The loss of both Lennie & Perry in such a short time is hard to bear.
Fly high my lovely boy. We miss you. ♥
Bath Relocation
For sometime now, the Thomas Bath has been set up on the outside of the main door of Moriarty’s (previously Dalai’s) cage.
Because of Perry’s recent wobbliness & the need to avoid open dishes of water in case he fell in, I had been putting the bath out less & less. Add to that, Lennie rarely, if ever, comes out & he is our main bath user. The bath location seemed redundant.
Lennie has always liked a bath, so I was holding it up to him in his cage so he could continue having his baths. With this in mind, I decided to relocate the bath to the inside of the main door of Perry & Lennie’s cage. That way, when Perry is spending the daytime in Moriarty’s cage, I can set up the bath for Lennie, close the door so it is lined up neatly with his perches & he can bathe at his leisure.
Lennie checking out the bath
Lennie having a bath
Lennie having a bath whilst Moriarty watches
Moriarty & Lennie conversing over the bath
Lennie comes out to check the bath whilst Moriarty watches
This system has been working well. Lennie can have his bath (he has been known to shout when he wants me to put it in!) I do not need to stand there holding it. Perry is safe from the open water. Moriarty is free to take a bath on the rare occasion that he is in the mood!
Happy Adoption Day, Perry & Lennie – 6 years!
It was six years ago on this day that I brought home these two beautiful, blue birds.
Perry
Lennie
Happy adoption-day, Perry & Lennie!
We love you lots!
♥♥♥
To show how my boys have changed since they first came here, I have included comparison photos below. Use the slider to see how they have matured.
Lennie Goes A-Wanderin’
Lennie has not come out of his cage for some time. He comes out onto the door platform but that is about it. In the morning, when Perry has gone to sit in Moriarty’s cage for the day, I open up Lennie’s so Moriarty can pop in & out to play with Lennie.
However, one evening, at the beginning of October, I looked up & saw Lennie was out! He had made his way to the top of Moriarty’s cage. It was meant to be a time for winding down for bed, but here he was, on a jaunt! I quickly locked Moriarty in (Perry would not come out anyway) as I was not sure if there would be any territorial issues over Perry. Lennie had a little roam around, then went back home.
Perry, Lennie & Moriarty
Lennie & Moriarty
Lennie
Lennie preening
Strangely, he did the same the following evening.
It felt like he was waiting for Perry to return for bedtime & decided he would go & find out what the delay was!
The following day he came out about 11am. Once again, I locked Moriarty in to keep things calm. Lennie stayed out for quite awhile. He made his way over to Moriarty who was in his old cage. Then he went to the top of the cage where Perry was, before making his way down to sit on the top of the open door where he preened for a bit. He returned back to the top of the cage & played with the ball with crinkle paper before retiring back to his own cage. He came out another couple of times later that same day.
Perry, Lennie & Moriarty
Lennie on top of cage door
Lennie playing with ball & paper
Lennie
I had hoped this would be the first of many outings, where I could gradually introduce Moriarty, but he has not been out since!
Here are some videos of the rare outing:
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If you are wondering about that dodgy wing feather, it was sorted out by the vet a few days later on the 11th of October.
Puddings & Toyboys 