Loss of Pets

More than just a “Pet”

My stages of loss over my little Parrot, have become my strength. Somehow.

Kariba eating some fruit — usually a banana that he loved most :) Image by Author

This is a long story, so please pass-on-by if it’s not for you, it is about my experience of the depth of pain us owners go through when we lose our beloved animals.

Was he brought into my life to teach me a lesson about being more careful.. or learning how to grieve?

I had the incredible fortune, of raising a little African Grey parrot, back in 2010, on a small island in the middle of the Indian ocean called Mauritius.

His name was Kariba, this is my story of how I lost him, and the process that followed after.

Walking past a pet shop one day in the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, I saw a few Green Ring-neck parrots and wondered if at the time they had African Greys. I grew up surrounded by people who had them all my life in Africa, and as they didn’t have rescue shelters at the time on the island, I thought I’d check if they did in the pet shops.

So I went in and asked, the owners had no idea what this type of parrot was, to which I then opened up Grampa Google and showed them some pics and the wife of the owner said “Aaaah…