On July 1st, I made the painful decision to have Terrance put down.

When I went to see him that morning, he was sitting on the floor of his cage with his eyes barely open and his feathers puffed up. He didn't respond to the sound of me shaking the peanut jar, or Ally placing a piece of banana on the floor near him -- which he would normally go ballistic for. He tried to walk but tipped over, and struggled to pull himself up onto the water dish that I also placed on the floor of his cage.

I picked him up and his body was fairly limp, and his feet were cold. He sat quietly in my hand for a while as I deliberated over what to do.

I was eventually able to get him an appointment at an emergency vet, and when I put him on the actual floor before putting him in his travel cage, he rolled around in what looked like a seizure.

I took him to the vet and they brought him into the exam room. My mother met me there. The vet came back about 20 minutes later, brought me into another room, and told me Terrance had a seizure while in the exam room, and based on my description, they surmised that he probably had a big seizure overnight. They talked about testing and medications, and said his functioning might get back to 70% of normal. I asked whether the vet thought euthanasia was a reasonable option, as I knew Terrance would just end up injuring himself more and more, and I didn't want him to become unable or unwilling to eat, and waste away and die of starvation. The vet agreed that "humane euthanasia" was indeed a reasonable option given Terrance's condition, so I gave her the approval to go ahead with it.

As a side note, although I'm writing about this like it's clinical, I was very upset the whole day. I don't remember a day in my life where I've cried that much. I wrote more details in my personal story about it (for my own reference).

We met a vet tech in another room, and they brought Terrance out and explained the procedures to us. My mom and I both said our tearful goodbyes to Terrance while the tech administered the drugs. He died at 2:32pm. I decided to have him cremated.

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Terrance was born in May of 2005. I got him at Mister Pet in Ajax on August 14th, 2005, when he was three months old. It was about a year and four months after I moved to Ontario. I was 19 years old. I was nearing the end of my first summer working at the Toronto Zoo. I was about to start my second year at York University. I was still living at home, and my parents were still together.

I had Terrance for almost 18 years, and he was 18 years old when he died. That's not ancient for a maroon-bellied conure, but it's longer than average and long time for a bird in general. According to one website, that's the equivalent of a human living to 87, which is definitely an acceptable lifespan. I knew Terrance could live 30 years, but if a 30-year-old conure is the equivalent of the maximum human lifespan (about 120 years), rather than the average human lifespan (83 years in Canada), then having a parrot living to 30 would be an exceptional gift, rather than something to be expected.

A lot of things changed or happened in my life during those years between August 2005 and July 2023. I graduated from university; my parents split up; I moved out; I got a college graduate certificate; I changed careers; I got a college diploma; I got married; I had a daughter; I had pre-diabetes for a few years, and I went on at least 28 trips of varying durations and distances. Terrance lived in 8 different houses. But he was here with me (sometimes figuratively) during all of those experiences. I'm 37 now, and so I had Terrance for most of my adult life, and almost half my life. Now, my life without Terrance has begun.

* * *
My wife and I have talked about getting a dog in the future now that Terrance is gone (we didn't have enough space to justify both). I grew up with dogs, so I'm used to them. But we want to wait until our daughter is older so that we have enough time to properly care for both. Terrance was low-maintenance, but a dog requires more physical exertion on the part of the owner. So for now, Terrance's cage sits empty in our living room; a reminder of the little bird we used to share our lives with.

I'm sad that my daughter won't likely remember Terrance. Their lives overlapped by just less than a year. But I do have a few pictures of them together, and that makes me happy. This is the last picture I ever took of Terrance.

Rest in peace, little Terrance. If there's an afterlife, may you always have a fresh slice of banana to eat, and a clean shirt to shit on.

May 2005 - July 1, 2023

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Tags:   Parrot bird maroon-bellied conure pyrrhura frontalis Pyrrhura green animal aves avian animalia chordata maroon-bellied parakeet pet feathers psittaciformes psittacidae

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Here's an APS film pic of Terrance from my most-recent roll. Unfortunately it wasn't focused on his eye, but it's good enough. It's hard to get in-focus pictures of Terrance because like any small animal that isn't a reptile, he tends to move at least once every second.

It's hard to believe Terrance will be 18 next month!

In other news, I got a new camera! And by "new", it's new to me. Stay tuned.

But like an episode of The Baby Yoda Show, you might have to wait another week to see it.
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Tags:   Terrance parrot bird conure animal pyrrhura frontalis pyrrhura maroon-bellied conure green eye beak aves avian animalia chordata psittaciformes psittacidae APS film expired film Advanced Photo System pet Canon EOS IX Lite Canon AGFA Agfa Star APS film

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I don't use my 50mm Sigma macro lens much anymore, but when I want low-light pictures, sometimes it's the only option.

Here's Terrance, making an appearance!

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Tags:   parrot bird conure Maroon-bellied conure pet animal

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Alright, so I went to buy my books today, but only one was available...so I only have so many books available to read...so I'm gonna post another picture, since I seem to be getting a lot of views lately.

It's also been a while since I posted a picture of Terrance! It's amazing what you can find when you look closely.

Anyway, now I'm off to band practice, even though I've been falling asleep since probably 3pm, hahaha. Tomorrow night I have to be in bed by 8pm. No more staying up until 11:30!
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Tags:   Terrance bird parrot feathers conure parakeet maroon-bellied conure yellow green black pattern animal nature beauty

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A few days ago I came up with an idea for a photography project...but I need to learn how to do HDR pics on my computer first. I know how to take the multiple exposures, but either my trial of Photomatix sucks, or I have no idea how to do it, haha. Well I suppose I can just take the pics now, and put them together into world-on-acid HDR pics later, once I learn how.

Anyway, here's a SOOC pic of my favorite parrot, Terrance :D

Tags:   Terrance parrot parakeet maroon-bellied conure conure bird pet green beak feathers pyrrhura frontalis eye

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