I went away for a few days, and came home late and a bit jet-lagged, to find Decaffeinated, dead. The details are a bit disturbing, but you can read them, if you want, by clicking the "more" link below. (Or, depending on how you're accessing this entry, the description starts at the statement "Here are the details...".)

Coming so soon after Sally's death, this one hit me pretty hard. And clearly, I can never go anywhere, ever again. I buried her with a bit of millet spray, but nothing else — she was one of the porkiest Society Finsters I've had, and clearly liked to eat just about anything!

R.I.P. Decaffeinated, November 2, 1997 — November 20, 2003.


Here are the details of Decaffeinated's death, stop reading here if you're not keen on gruesome events:

I found her, dead, hanging by her toenails, at the front of the Finsterium near the right corner, at about eye level.

So first, the event is my fault. She's had a broken back toe for years, and that toenail in paticular gets her stuck in the mesh of the cage, and needs regular trimming. In the past when she's gotten stuck, someone has been around to either catch her, or scare her enough so that she gets herself loose. I suppose she's been stuck when I'm not around, but I've never seen evidence of a bad struggle. I knew that nail needed trimming before I left, but didn't find the time for it. So it was a terrible accident, but pretty much my fault.

Second, is the gruesome part. How long does it take for a bird to die? Presumably from starvation, dehydration, or shock? Shock would probably be quickest. How much struggling did she do? How did the other birds react? How awful was it?

Third is also pretty bad. I'd hired a pet sitter for the first time. They were supposed to come every day, and there were clear signs they'd been there that day. I'm not an expert on bird corpses, but it appeared to me that Decaffeinated had been dead for awhile. More than just a few hours. So did they simply not see the dead bird dangling in the corner? Did they see it and panic? Decide to ignore the situation? I'm writing this long after the event, and have officially decided against contacting them. Wouldn't solve anything. But it's still disturbing.