[Connie]

This morn my husband noticed that Demitrius was out of his cage. I had forgotten to shut the door when I fed him. Demitrius is a very old canary...15 plus years old and a canaries lifespan is 10 years, so he's outlived his lifespan by many years. Demitrius was a baby that was hatched and raised by another set of my birds, long gone now. I have an aviary full of birds, but for the past 4 or 5 years, I have Demitrius in his own cage because he is so old and I'm thinking maybe blind or near blind and he also acts confused. I figured his own cage where it's quiet would suit him better. He has so many times showed signs that he is dying, but always bounces back...I think he has more lives than a cat...actually, after today, I know that!

My husband picked up Demitrius to put him back in his cage and Demitrius flew out of his hand and landed on the floor and Maddie pounced on him and had him in her mouth. I don't know if it was our screaming or the bird wiggling that made Maddie open her mouth and the bird dropped out and just layed there. My husband picked up the bird and and layed him in his cage, but the bird appeared dead. My husband felt so bad. I said, "He's so old and confused and not enjoying life anymore..." and my husband said, "But what a way to die!" He picked up the bird and walked into the other room with him and all of a sudden, Demitrius took off flying! I couldn't believe it! He's alive...and kicking! He looks a little scruffy from some broken feathers, but other than that, he's doing great! Maddie finally got her chance at one of the birds...she's been wanting to do that for a long time now! LOL

Here's a pic of Demitrius...this was quite a few years ago when he adopted a baby finch in the aviary. That little bird was getting picked on and Demitrius came to his aid. He watched over that little bird like it was his own!