Our Doves Are Silent - Haiku - On Mourning and Loss
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Our doves are silent
Gaz, still and cold, while her mate
Freaked out, refused food.
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The universe works in weird and mysterious ways.
Just last night, while in the process of archiving all of my Steemit posts to date, the last post I archived was "Heralds of the Dawn," which spoke of our doves, their babies, and their devotion to one another.
The post was still open on my computer screen tonight.
Earlier this afternoon, when I went to retrieve my good trowel from the front porch, in preparation for planting some Colorado blue spruces near the road, I noticed that the doves' food bowl was resting at an angle on the bottom of their cage, and not secure in its holder several inches above.
Then I noticed Gaz, our female white dove, resting on the bottom of the cage, with her body facing me . . . not in her perch above, as usual. She appeared to be sleeping. Odd.
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I opened the door of the cage, to pick up the bowl and pour in some fresh food, when Zim, our buff-colored male, leapt out of the cage onto the bowl, and effectively into my hands, which is entirely unlike him.
I petted him for a moment to try and calm him, then placed him back onto his usual perch, but he was clearly agitated; and he was not any happier or less agitated when I placed the full food bowl back in his cage, which is again, highly unusual.
I turned my attention to Gaz, who hadn't moved, petted her as well, and got no response.
That was when I realized why Zim was so freaked out . . . he had just lost the love of his life, the female dove who has been his one and only lifemate for the past ten or twelve years, if not a bit more.
I picked her up and removed her from the cage, realizing that the first spruce we planted would now be her memorial, and saddened for Zim, as doves typically mate for life.
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We planted the spruces along the road in front of our property as planned, then planted horseradish at the drip line of our two oldest chestnut trees, and came back to the house.
By this time, I had already called my neighbor, because her sister had taken the baby doves that Zim and Gaz had hatched and raised a few years back.
Marek and I had decided to rehome Zim with someone who already had doves, to keep him company, and to hopefully ease his grief at Gaz's passing.
But unfortunately, our neighbor's sister had since passed away, and she had no idea what had become of the young doves.
I then called a friend of ours, Mike, who owns one of our favorite pet stores in Cookeville, to see if he knew anyone who kept doves.
The only person Mike knew was his own son, who has a single dove of a different variety, and when I asked if he thought his son would be willing to take on another dove, he said certainly.
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I walked over to Zim's cage, and like Gaz earlier, he wasn't even on his perch; he had wedged himself into a back corner on the bottom of the cage, and looked as though he had simply settled himself down to die.
This was what I was afraid of, as bonded pairs often pass quickly when their mate dies, and I wanted to get him into the company of other doves as quickly as possible. When I petted him again, he felt cool to the touch.
I went inside and washed out their water bowl. Marek picked him up while I was inside, and said that he was alive, but very weak and frail, and appeared to be dying.
I brought out his fresh water, and decided to see if I could at least get him to take a drink. I picked him up, held him close and dipped his beak into the fresh water, and after a moment of simply moving his head up and down slightly, he finally began to drink.
I held him and let him drink intermittently for ten or fifteen minutes. Good sign.
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So we are planning to make the drive with Zim tomorrow, to give him a change of pace and a new start, with the hope of a new friend, away from where he lost his lady love.
All animals mourn, but doves take the deaths of their companions particularly hard.
Our eldest dove, GIR, was mean to both Zim and Gaz when they were all in a large outdoor enclosure together in Florida; and yet, when GIR died several months ago, Zim and Gaz both mourned him, even though he was caged separately several feet away.
The good thing is that I've met Mike's son, who helps out at the shop, and he is very much an animal lover. I know that, with him, Zim will get excellent care.
I just hope that Zim lives through the night.
RIP Gaz, and please be well and live a long, healthy life, Zim. We love you.
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That was a touching story I teared up a bit. Sorry for your loss Zim. I hope he holds on loss is hard.
Thanks, Scarlet, I hope he does too.
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Ah! How heart wrenching!
So happy you revived Zim and found him a loving home where he hopefully will not morn the loss of his mate as much!
Rest in peace Gaz!
Thank so much, @porters.
Unfortunately, Zim did not survive the night, much as elders married 50+ years often follow one another closely.
He and Gaz had been paired for at least twelve years, possibly a bit more as I don't recall the exact year we got them, but it was easily the vast majority of their lives.
We miss them both badly, but now they are together, and free.
Sorry to hear, but as you say they are together and free!
Hope Zim comes out ok! Which pet shop does Mike own? That one by the Depot?
Age of Aquariums.
Marek and I are in love with his place, being serious aquarium addicts, and Mike is a really good guy.
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Ah yes, know the place, been in there a few times window shopping. Freya loves the lil fishies :P
Yeah, I'm right there with her, as is Marek.
Our problem is that we want one of each, and multiples of many. After all, we've only got seven aquariums and counting!
;-)
Sadly, Zim did not survive the night.
He and Gaz are now flying freely together.
Tonight I will post a fitting tribute to them both.they were lovely souls and will be much missed.
For now, we are doing more fall planting, and in due course we will bury Zim near his lady love.
I am thinking possibly of a Rose of Sharon as his memorial, but we'll see what the day brings.
CrescendoofPeace - Your story caught my eye, as I raised homing pigeons when I was a kid growing up in L.A., and just like doves, they mate for life. And are so smart and sweet and loyal and funny. I feel your loss and that of dear Zim, and pray he is recovered and healthy, in the company of a new friend. Peace. And by the way... my name is Marcela and I used to post here under udbarflower. Thank you again for your kind comment of support. https://medium.com/@alecramzurc312
Thank you, Marcela, I appreciate your kindness.
Unfortunately, Zim was unwilling to live without his lady love, and simply lay down and died. I found him dead in his cage the next morning. I buried him with some of Gaz's feathers.
I miss the doves, and I'm hoping to build a large enclosure this spring, similar to the one we had in Florida, which will allow us to have a small colony.
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I am sorry about my very delayed response, crescendoofpeace, but have not been on Steemit since was falsely accused of plagiarism by the ignorant clowns that run this place. By now, time has hopefully softened your pain - having raised pigeons, I know they, like doves, mate for life, so was not surprised to hear about Zim. Hopefully by now, also, you have proceeded with your plans for that enclosure. Doves and pigeons are such sweet and smart companions... P.S. if you wish to respond, since I rarely visit Steemit now, I am at [email protected]
Thanks for your response. I still miss them. One of these days.
Sorry to hear of your experience on Steemit. I hope you come back. Still a lot of great people here.