dubaighost

another weekend past.... and guess what? we ended up checking out the petshops in town..... no luck in abu dhabi..... saw a 1 yr ++ old cag which (personally owned) but it has attitude problems... i checked out some petshops in Dubai in the past 2 days... found a lovely cag and i was planning to get it... few ours earlier, i went back at the petshop planning to buy the cag... i prepared an 'agreement' with me saying that the bird will be returned incase there are negative results in the medical test (was planning to bring the bird straight to the vet after purchasing)..... the petshop was hesitant... checked the other shop and offered the same thing.... this is what the guy said >>> "if you will have the bird tested and return it incase a virus is present, i suggest you to get other birds instead, like cockatoo... coz 90% of the african greys in dubai are infected.. with pbfd (or whatever virus)..." i felt sad after hearing that thing from the petshop manager.... from the looks of it, there is small chance that we can get a healthy cag in united arab emirates.... is this for real? such virus is rampant these days?

My wife's message to all of you Thanks guys…it’s really nice to read your posts. It makes us feel better to know that there are a lot of you out there that can relate to our situation… It’s hard for me to express myself in this time of grieving especially when I’m in the office….i don't know if it is just me but i somehow feel that they're mocking me:mad:, perhaps they can't relate since they haven't experience the love of a grey.......sucks to be them(haha?).....sorry this is just me being bitter....could be the grieving process kicking in...(trying to smile) to be honest with what i've gone thru the vet told me i should get another bird as she can pretty well see how upset i am at the time....between sobs i tried to say no coz im afraid to go thru it again heaven forbid or i wouldn't want to have comparison between the new CAG & the latter. but the thought of adoption is crossing my mind & maybe when that time comes it will be "meant to be" coz it will be Godsent...& this time it'll last. infact, funny & pathetic as it maybe, we visited a pet shop....just before going there i felt a little bit of excitement & glimpse of joy with the thought having to see & touch a grey once again.....so there we are my husband & my 9 yr old son in a pet shop petting a random grey trying to fill up the void.. my husband jokingly said what a weekend...spent in pet shop.. but then i knew comparison would kick in....i know it's not right to compare coz no two birds are the same.....& most definitely no bird can top Grey's love for us as each & every greys love is unique...im sure you will agree with that too...no matter how many greys you'll have it'll always be different & just as exclusive love a specific grey will give....there's no such thing as this grey is better....they are all the best in their own different ways.. forever grateful to you guys....til next time

Thank you again guys.... It's my son's birthday on April 8..... i know 'grey' will be with us in spirit..... The BIG QUESTION .... after a traumatic situation like what we've gone through (incase you decide to get a new family member), will you still opt for a CAG?

Thank you Morana, danmcq, Malikah, Buttaxi (thanks for the tribute ), judygram, TitaniumPhoenix, Zoom, Birdnut, katana600, Greywings, Jingles, Eshana, Jayd, reggieroo, Shelly Yokum, hammco, dhorje, Talon, MarcusCAG, luvparrots, jules420_91 (Julie, Greg, Pat Tarzie & Louie) & Vamppire, for the condolences, wishes & prayers... Going through your messages definitely helps us in the healing process..... Grey's Family

A message from my Wife..... Thank you very much for all your support & prayers..as of now it’s really hard to get by…when I come home from office..she’s no longer there to greet me. When we get up in the morning we no longer hear her whistling for attention to get out of the cage. It felt like a big whole was punched thru my chest. I don’t know what’s more painful…waiting for your beloved to go in peace in a natural way…or watch the whole process while the doctor is putting her to eternal sleep & then later on having to explain to your 9 yr old son that his beloved pet is gone. That fateful morning (29 March) I called up the clinic to ask her status, the assistant said there has been some improvement as she still responds to feeding, that statement got me more confused as we are already considering putting her to sleep the night before when we saw that the other leg gave in too & that doctors said that was the end stage. The assistant told me that Grey’s doctor just came in that morning & she wanted to speak to us to give the latest update, I said I’d rather have them call my husband as I could not come up with any decision, so the doctor did spoke to my husband & said Grey’s not getting any better infact she’s getting worse by the minute, there’s no use to wait to put her to sleep till end of my office hours, it will defeat the purpose of getting her out of misery so I decided to go immediately to the clinic. I don’t want Grey to think that we just left her some place to die. I wanted her to see that I’m there till the very end even though I’ll be putting myself into heart wrenching situation, on my way to the clinic I’m convincing myself not to cry but as soon as I got there & the minute the doctor utter the 1st word tears began pouring & it’s just non stop. Every body in the clinic felt my pain, no need for me to say anything & if so it’s really hard to speak & cry your heart out at the same time, the doctor presented me Grey…she’s just lying there breathing heavily feathers fluffed, no strength to even raise her head. She just nibbles my finger perhaps for the last time, the doctor reassured me that I’m doing the right thing though at the back of my head I’m thinking maybe it would be less painful if her time would come at that very moment, but no we really have to do it…more tears roll down…as the doctor leaves the room for the preparation I took every moment to let her feel our love, caressing endlessly. The final moment arrives, the doctor has the syringe with her assistant holding her, at that moment she chirped with all she could, she maybe wondering what’s happening, I caressed her even more to assure her everything will be alright, simultaneously she closes her eyes while the fluid goes thru, she goes to sleep…I asked the doctor “is that it” she nodded so I hushed Grey to sleep while the doctor checks for heartbeat, there’s no more……I thought that she will gradually drift away, I didn’t think she’ll be gone in an instant. I hoped I could still hold her close while she slowly fades away but instead I’m just holding her lifeless body…I cried even more. After a while I decided to compose myself as I still need to go back to the office, how to work I don’t know…I went out of the doctor’s clinic leaving her to their care as they will arrange her cremation & into the reception hall to pay the bill, I ask the receptionist to give my thanks to the doctor & left. As I went out of the clinic it’s as if I’m stepping into an empty world…gotta shake it off & move on no matter how hard & painful it is. I’m sorry if I had to tell it in detail but I got to share it somehow to relieve what I’m feeling right now…..when we’re really sad I just remind myself that we love her so much & she’s in the hands of the Lord, the best place she could ever be. Grey…you’ll be truly missed

Thank you all for the wonderful messages. It surely helps. I will forward this link to my wife for her to know that the 'greyforum' community cares.... Let me try to post some recent pictures of 'grey'. All of us will miss her... There is a picture clicked while 'grey' was guarding my 9yr old son while he sleeps.... http://s1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee499/dubaighost/grey/

Thank you for wishes and prayers... Yesterday afternoon, right leg started giving up... We still had hopes that she will improve. Evening, Family was in the Clinic to check her. The minute she saw us, she chirped! left leg gave up as well. Few minutes before that, we were ready to take that 5% chance and go for a rigorous medication. At that time, she can no longer move her legs. she is just bitting the cage railings to keep her in an upright position. I carried her.... Head & neck was strong... trying to hold on to my shirt to climb up my shoulder. At that time, it seems like she's gonna make it... We talked to the Doctors, nurses and watchers.... Same prognosis.... She will not make it.... They have 10 cases before but ZERO survival rate. All of us was devastated. My 9yr old son keeps on asking.... "is she going to make it? is she going to live?"... He was crying since afternoon..... at 11 pm, we decided to give it a shot (overnight) to check if there will be any development. 8.30am today, Doctor called and informed us that it is getting worst. Two legs are fully not functioning. She's on her side... eyes closed... feathers fluffed... The doctor recommended to put her to sleep to reduce the agony.. We decided to say 'yes' to the doctor's recomendation. WE don't want 'grey' to be in pain. My wife immediately left the office to see off 'grey'.... My wife said, "i want 'grey' to see me before she goes... i want her to know that i was there until the end... i want her to know that i love her..... " This virus is so wicked..... i hope, one day, they'll find a cure for it....... I hope 'grey' is in a better place now.....

Just got an update from the Doctor... 'Partial' Blood results arrived.... White blood cells count: Normal count is 10 - 18.... Grey's wbc count......... ZERO..... it means.... She has ZERO immune system. Doctor confirmed that it is the same virus that hit the CAGs in UAE for the last months... They had several cases of such desease... Will get full blood results later.... Survival rate is down to 5%.... They gave us options... Put her to sleep.... OR let her die on her own..... Sad.....

I think 'Grey' is dying.... We were caught by surprise. She was ok last night and now, Doctor said, There is a high percentage of losing her. For the past days, we've noticed that grey is itching heavily. She has a rash on her upper eye lid (it looks like a pimple w/o an eye) which we treats with aloe plant. Yesterday, we decided to give her a quick shower (water and aloe juice) around 6.30pm. This Morning, we noticed something wrong, usually she starts to make sounds / noises the 'second' we stand out from our beds. This morning.... There was no reaction... She ate for a while and stood up her perch and thats it.... few minutes after, she is down on the cage floor (standing), feathers fluffed. We also noticed that there are grean peas on the cage floor and there are some greeny things on her beak. We assume she vomitted. My initial prognosis: 1. it is because of the late shower 2. it has something to do with itchy thing 3. it has something to do with the green peas she ate (maybe it was not fresh?) At 1 pm we decided to bring her to British Veterinary Clinic in Abu Dhabi. The doctor said she is in Bad shape. She even mentioned that there are same cases in the past three weeks. Doctor is talking about a viral thing.... PBFD.... She said she's not sure if it's the same thing that strucked 'grey'. Now, 'Grey is confined in the clinic. Blood & Fecal tests will be done. Some "fluids" will be given to her as the doctor informed. 'Grey' is damn weak... Standing, head bowed down, not moving, fluffy feathers, eyes closed. The Doctor said, there is no assurance that she will survive. From her tone of voice, it is down to 2-10 ratio. Every immediate family member is now crying. Me myself have been holding back my tears since i am in the office. Life is really mysterious... It is SO mysterious that sometimes it becomes questionable... 'Grey' is not a pet.... 'Grey' is FAMILY to us. She has been with us roughly 1 month and few weeks only. But the bond and love felt and given to us and vice versa was beyond that. Now we are so Sad... We cant do anything but pray. I hope she makes it.... If not, i am sure that the amount of sadness cannot be measured.... It is like losing a 'human' family member. Will update you guys on the development.... Positive or negative...

Not yet. It is not a major shedding. Its just above the normal one. Just got worried of this aloe juice http://dynamichealth.com/dh/avj.asp i still have to look for a good avian vet. We have good vets that specializes in FALCONS in uae. Im not sure if they're ok to handle CAGs.

he is just 4 months approx. That will be too early for molting i think. Got a confirmation, he starts with preening, then ends up to plucking the downy feathers, if thats how you call it (the cottonly / pluffy feathers). We checked the eye, its exactly at the upper lid. Its like an insect bite or a pimple (w/o an eye).

Guys, we just noticed that the amount of 'cotton feathers' in the cage deck are plenty than the usual. Now i am worried: > it might be the aloe vera juice which i posted few days back (i saw dave's reply a little late. I ended up using it) > it might be the hot air blower (somebody did it without my knowledge) not sure if he plucks it or it just goes naturally. Also noticed that he scrathes heavily the past days (neck area). Bathed him with water but he still scrathes. Yesterday we noticed a rash on the upper eye lid. I assume he accidentally scartched that part? We gave a natural aloe (juice from a plant) as a remedy Apperciate your feedback.

dave, 'grey' shivers after a bath. Should i just leave it?

hot air blower after shower? Will this harm 'grey'???

Dave, Saw this one in a local supermarket. Do you think this is ok? http://dynamichealth.com/dh/avj.asp