To Kill or Not To Kill...That Is the Question!!!

@LadyMarissa (12148)
United States
July 24, 2009 11:54pm CST
I went out to feed my dogs today. My female showed up just as soon as I walked out the door. I found it strange that my male wasn't right behind her as he usually is. I put food in both bowls & noticed that neither dog was coming to eat....even stranger!!! Then I notice 2 Robins dive bombing something on the other side of the bush. I'm looking to make sure one of my cats hadn't slipped out the door. Thats when i see the female prancing around with a baby bird in her mouth & the mom & dad birds attacking her. I tell her to put it down & was shocked when she listened. Just as the bird hit the ground, the male ran over & scooped it up. The bird was chirping like crazy & the adult birds started attacking the male. I got him to drop the bird & I grabbed something to scoop it up with. Just as I get to it, the female grabbed it & started running off with it, with the male on her heels. I finally got both of them to leave it alone & I scooped it up in a bowl. The big birds were screaming like crazy. I knew if I sat the bowl down, the dogs would attack again. So, I took the bowl & set it up on a fork in a limb in the tree I thought it had come from...high enough the dogs couldn't get it. I was upset because I knew the baby bird was going to die & there was nothing I could do about it. I had to go to the drug store to try & find some cherry extract. On the way to the car, I stopped to see if the baby bird was dead or alive. Lo & behold the bowl was empty & there was an adult bird sitting out on a limb in shock. It didn't fly off when I approached it & was completely still except I could see it breathing. I think this was the same bird from the bowl. It's breast wasn't colored like the 2 adult Robins. When I got back from the store, I look again & the bird had not moved. I got closer & could see it breathing but it was in exactly the same position as it was when I left. Just before dark I went out to check on it again. The bird was gone. Now I'm wondering i it died, fell out of the tree & the dogs snatched it up & I just didn't see it or if it came out of shock & flew off. I know it was hurt pretty bad when the dogs grabbed it & didn't think it would be able to fly. Does anybody know enough about birds to have a clue if it could have recovered enough to fly off???
3 people like this
3 responses
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
25 Jul 09
I'm sorry to hear this but it is hard for dogs to curb their natural instincts with stuff like that. I do sincerely hope the bird flew away and wasn't hurt further by falling out of the tree. I don't know much about birds, so I can't be of much help. But it is easier to think of it as flying away..then imagining one of your dogs getting it.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
27 Jul 09
I don't think the bird fell out of the tree. I've looked the yard fairly well & found NO feathers nor body parts. The dogs weren't trying to eat the bird, they were just playing with it so I don't think they disposed of the evidence!!!
25 Jul 09
Hi LadyM, Awwww, that is so sad, but iof you don't see any feathers everywhere then it has flown off, sometimes the poor bird just needed time to recover and they quite strong in teir own way, its nature, I'll keep the bowl up there if I were you. Taamra
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
27 Jul 09
The bowl is still in the tree & the bird is no where to be found!!! I've looked the yard pretty good & found no feathers nor any body parts. In looking at the bird sitting in the tree, it didn't look like the dogs damaged the wings nor broke the skin anywhere. So I'm telling myself that the bird just went into shock, then recovered & flew off. I hope I'm right!!! If they had tried to kill it I wouldn't have been as upset as I was watching them playing & torturing it. It was almost like watching a cat do its thing!!!
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
20 Nov 09
I think in reality, I would be a little upset and worried as well with something like this happening, and anyone would be like you and want to strangle your dogs for sure. It is Sad to see that many times dogs are known to do things like this, and it makes you wonder why. But like others said it could have just been so frightened and not know what to think, so until it felt it was safe it stayed there like that. Let's at least hope this is what happened and many good things for the Bird from here.