Lost my feathered best friend

[ValiantKnight]

My quaker parrot, Baby, passed away yesterday. I had her since 2011 when she was only a couple of months old. She had started to feel unwell on Saturday but became worse in the evening. I wasn’t sure what was happening exactly (first time ever she was sick/unwell) and I thought she was just having a minor illness (I was planning to take her today to a local vet/pet hospital), but it was worse than I realized and Baby died Sunday morning. She had laid two unfertilized eggs within a few days of each other in the past week so I think this might have strained and weakened her little body too much, despite her behaving normally a couple of days afterwards. I think the suddenness of her death left me numb initially and it was only today that the pain really hit me when I gave myself time to process it. I tell myself she is in a better place but it hurts to think that she might be feeling alone without me with her, wherever she is now.
 

RIP Baby (2011-2022)

 

Please help me honor Baby (and your own pets, living or resting eternally) by posting anything relevant: your pets, coins with animals, etc. Thank you.

Ptolemy II, Ptolemaic Kingdom
AR tetradrachm
Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, monogram in left field, shield in front of eagle
Mint: Alexandria
Date: 285-246 BC
Ref: Svoronos 574

Edited June 14, 2022 by ValiantKnight

[Steve]

Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that news, Jango ... man, you've had that great friend for a long time, eh?

 

That is the obvious down-side of adopting a pet ... you usually out-live them (sigh)

I have lost a few dogs in my adult life, but last year I lost my spirit animal (Larry ... "she" was an amazing friend)

 

Again, I'm very sorry to hear that news, my ol' coin-friend

Edited June 14, 2022 by Steve

[Ryro]

My condolences friend. What a beautiful bird. 

I lost my buddy Squirt after twelve years a few years back.

Why does life have to be so damn hard?

I always thought this eagle looked like a quaker as for whatever reason the bill appears hooked:

[Ryro]

Ps, I too found out to late that they hide that their sick due to their flockmates abandoning them when they see another bird that's sick. Survival instinct. Nature's a cruel MFer.

[thenickelguy]

Awww, so sad to see this and I share your pain best I can. 

[Alegandron]

@ValiantKnight, I do deeply understand. RIP to your Baby. 

My Dog, Blue.  She passed 1-1/2 yrs ago.  She was my constant companion, coming with me everywhere:  Work, home, even room-to-room where ever I was.  She saved my life on two very critical occasions.  I have had many dogs, cats, and other critters in my life.  Blue and I connected like no other. 

She loved everyone, and everyone really liked her too.  Always a tail a-waggin', always smiling.  Even in her final days when her dysplasia was becoming intolerable:  She smiled and was happy.  I deeply miss her Soul.

RR C Mamilius 82 BCE AR Den Serrate Mercury winged petasos caduceus Ulysses Dog Argos Sear 282 Craw 362-1

 

RR Aes Grave AE Quadrans 269-242 BCE Dog 3 pellets Six spoked wheel 59.8g Craw 24-6a Th-Vecchi 34 ex Sellwood

 

Blue's Last Day... smiling, loving, and her paw was always on my arm all day.

 

[CPK]

Sorry to hear that, @ValiantKnight!

[JeandAcre]

Sorry, @Ryro and @ValiantKnight, but I have to get more emotional traction with dogs than birds, who I never grew up with.  ...It's all stuff, though.  Getting that part.

In honor of those of you who appreciated the real kind more than I had ever had occasion to, here's a petit denier of Henri II-III, dukes of Brabant, weirdly contemporaneous to Heny III of England.  (...With the two-headed eagle of their Hohenstaufen suzerains ...even though, like all over the eastern border of France, they were largely Francophone.)

One thing I really need about being able to walk to work every day is seeing the crows.  Two things about crows are, they're smarter than that many (thank you, @Alegandron, small and commensurately inbred) dogs.  And the reason they don't sing is that you're not paying them enough.

But lately, even in my neighborhood, there's been a serious return of little songbirds --just as fat, to scale, as the crows; they're all doing very well.  Throw in some trees and squirrels, and it's serious daily medicine.

Edited June 14, 2022 by JeandAcre
my usual dumb typo kind of shit

[Severus Alexander]

So sorry to hear that @ValiantKnight!  I know birds can be amazing companions... so smart and affectionate. 😢

Here's a Consecratio coin with eagle (Diva Marciana denarius) :

We've lost more than a few guinea pigs.  Here's Dilmah, RIP.  They may not be very smart (furry potatoes, really) but they have character and we miss every one:

[Helvius Pertinax]

I am also very sorry to hear that, especially since you've been together for so long! I lost Teddy, my companion of 15 years last summer, he had been with me my entire life so it was hard to let him go 😔

But I have a new companion, Leo, now and times have gotten a lot better with him! I hope you can also get over it, I (and Leo) wish you the best!

 

 

 

 

 

[Roman Collector]

I'm so sorry, @ValiantKnight! It always hurts to lose a beloved animal companion. Birds were considered as attributes of divinity in ancient times.

Athena/Minerva had her owl.

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman provincial triassarion, 7.19 g, 21.7 mm, 7 h.
Thrace, Pautalia, AD 161-175.
Obv: ΦΑVCΤΕΙΝΑ-CΕΒΑCΤΗ, draped bust of Faustina II, right; double band of pearls around head.
Rev: ΟVΛΠΙΑC ΠΑV-ΤΑΛΙΑC, Athena seated, l., holding owl and spear; resting foot on footrest; leaning against seat, shield.
Refs: RPC IV 10035, Ruzicka 108.
Notes: Double die match to RPC IV 10035(1) = Ruzicka 108(2) = Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France 957 (ex 779).

Hera/Juno had her peacock.

Faustina Jr, AD 147-175.
Roman AR Denarius, 3.42 g, 17.6 mm, 7 h.
Rome, AD 166-170.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right, Beckmann type 9 hairstyle.
Rev: IVNO, Juno, veiled, draped, standing left, holding patera in extended right hand and scepter in left hand; at left, peacock.
Refs: RIC 688; BMC 106; Cohen 120; RCV 5255; CRE 188.

Aphrodite/Venus had her dove.

Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman AR denarius, 3.30 g, 17 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 158-161.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: Venus standing facing, head left, holding dove and scepter.
Refs: RIC 730; BMCRE 167-68; RSC 255; Strack 520i; RCV 5266; CRE 236.
 

And Zeus/Jupiter had his eagle.

Licinius I, AD 308-324.
Roman silvered billion follis, 2.98 g, 20.2 mm, 6 h.
Heraclea, 313-314.
Obv: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right.
Rev: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and scepter; eagle at feet to left. -/Γ//SMHT.
RIC vii, p. 542, 6; RCV --.
 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

So sorry to hear @ValiantKnight- I lost my kitty Indy a couple of years back, probably to a coyote but we'll never know.

 

 

[UkrainiiVityaz]

Sorry to hear of your loss.  Here is my closest bird:

 

 

 

 

.

This is my kitty Seryozha Aleksandrov Yuriy Gagarin Aleksandr Pushkin 14.2.1996 ~ 13.9.2016.  My then fiance found him as a stray who had his left rear paw amputated and dumped on a roadway.  When my fiance called me from work about him I made her promise that we would take him to the animal shelter - because I didn't want a cat.  Somehow he never made it to the shelter - he ended up getting the rest of his paw amputated because of risk of infection.  For a three legged kitty he actually got around quite well.  He actually became an integral part of our lives by bossing us around, griping a lot - he had a very foul mouth!  He also outlived other pets that had come along, three of them no less and put up with all my kids.

 

His legacy lives on.  I will only adopt black cats now and have four of them.  My oldest, Alyosha Pushkin was trained by Seryozha in the ways of manipulating humans.

[cwart]

I don't really have any critter coins...  So I'll post one of my coins with an eagle on it at the bottom.  I do have two wonderful dogs though.  Nova and Wade, two American Hairless Terriers.  Nova is the spotted on and Wade is the solid brown (the one with the fur in the pic is me.... lol).  They were very sad to hear about Baby's passing and send their pawndolences...

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by cwart

[Finn235]

So sorry for your loss 😞

It always is hard to lose a family member, even when they have feathers or fur.

Probably my favorite ancient bird - so inquisitive!

I had cats growing up, so no birds for me. Mom slowly embraced being a crazy cat lady over time, and for a brief few months we had ten at the same time - then it was time to say goodbye one at a time. It hurt, but they all lived long, healthy lives, between 10 and 17 years.

Wife and I talked about pets after we got married, and eventually took in her senior dog Peanut, a beagle-daschund mix. He lived the good life with us for seven more years, mostly out of sheer force of will while anticipating his next meal

We said goodbye in early 2019, and man, it hurt like hell.

A few months later wife talked me into going to an adoption fair, "just to look" and we came home with Ares, who we renamed Chewbacca

We have no idea what he is, except a very good boy, and an incurable lazy bones.

[DonnaML]

I'm so very sorry for your loss, @ValiantKnight. What a beautiful bird she was. I'm going to have to cope with the same one of these days not too far off with my cat Ziggy, who's 16 years old and has had chronic (incurable) kidney disease the last 18 months. He's hanging in there, but it greatly upsets me just to think about.

[thenickelguy]

Hope you are doing OK. It's tough, I know.

[ValiantKnight]

Thank you so much for all the supportive posts. And all the wonderful pets posted. It means a lot to me. I have been feeling somewhat better these past couple of days, I think. Baby’s absence has become more noticeable (I guess the reality is setting in more), but work and other things have helped distract me. I try not to look at her empty cage, but it’s difficult since I have one big cage divided into two portions; one that was for Baby and the other for my budgies. 

@Ryro @Alegandron @Helvius Pertinax @Ancient Coin Hunter @UkrainiiVityaz @Severus Alexander @Finn235@Steve

So very sorry to hear of the passing away of your animal friends as well. And for hearing about what Ziggy is going through@DonnaML. He sounds like a trooper and I hope you get to spend as much remaining time with him as possible.

Edited June 17, 2022 by ValiantKnight

[airhead1983]

I’m so sorry, @ValiantKnight.  Losing a pet is incredibly hard.  I’m still trying to get over losing my bearded dragon a few months ago.

Its amazing how these little creatures make such a deep impression on our hearts.

I’m honour of Baby, here is mr brother’s Shekel of Tyre.

Take care, my friend.

Erin

[DonnaML]

10 hours ago, ValiantKnight said:

And for hearing about what Ziggy is going through@DonnaML. He sounds like a trooper and I hope you get to spend as much remaining time with him as possible.

Ziggy thanks you!

[Octavius]

 I'm so sorry to hear this news. I know how you are feeling. I lost my best buddy one year ago this week. It's very hard, but worth the price.

Percival...

 

[Qcumbor]

Never had a bird, but a greyhound has been with us for 15 years. She was a real fast runner

 

I feel your pain VK

Q

 

[antwerpen2306]

my little friend passed away on 02/02/22. I'll never forget this day. It is the last 'official' photo, taken beginning december by my son-in-law for wishing and the announcement my daughter is pregnant for one of this days. It is a boy and my first grandchild. albert

 

        translation : extra job from 06/22 on : babysitter

[ValiantKnight]

Thank you guys for the additional posts/words of support. 

[ewomack]

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. Very sad. I currently live with a bird (below) and they are so intelligent and exploding with personality that it's hard to imagine our place without him flying around (we don't clip his wings so he's taken over the living room). I love Quakers. I met one named Lampchop, who would have impressed Seneca with his stoicism. Another one, named Skeeter, was quite a bit more rambunctious, but always did an impressive jig when I hoisted him up on my arm. In my experience, only time helps these things, so please take the time to grieve, heal and remember.

I don't have any ancient or medieval coins with birds on them, so I'll post my favorite bird coin instead: