Losing a best friend is hard even under the best of circumstances
Published on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 0:05
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Keegan Ray, 11, and his two deceased pet birds, Penelope (left) and Gizmo (right). The two birds were killed by neighborhood dogs just over a week ago. Submitted photo
Keegan and his two new four-month-old chickens… and Chichi. The two new birds came from Green Grables Farm outside of Raleigh and are named Janie and Cheche. Submitted Photo
Heartbroken family loses two pets and two dogs on the same day
SALISBURY — People often have a strong bond with their pets. The death of a beloved pet can be devastating, and when the death is not from natural causes, it can be ten times worse.
In September 2021, seven-year-old Keegan Ray had a years-long wish come true when he got a pet chicken named Silver Duck Wing, which he named Penelope. In January 2023, Penelope made headlines when she was with Keegan and his mother Cassandra at Bell Tower Green Park when she disappeared. They often took Penelope there to run and play, and that day another family saw Penelope, thought she was lost, and took her home for safekeeping. Days later, Keegan and Penelope were reunited, and the Post ran a story about the missing pet chicken’s homecoming.
Over time, Keegan and Cassandra thought Penelope would like a friend, so they adopted a rooster named Gizmo. At the same time, the family began looking for a new home. During their search, they moved into the lakeside cottage of a friend who keeps free-range chickens on his property.
Penelope and Gizmo had the whole house and grounds to themselves during the day, and Cassandra said that as Keegan becomes more active with age, she spent more time with the feathered friends and developed her own bond with them, especially Penelope.
So when she got a call from her boyfriend last Sunday telling her he’d found a dead baby rooster in the garden, she rushed home, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. She didn’t say anything to Keegan in the car because she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to upset him.
“We got home and I realized it was Gizmo,” she said. “I immediately started looking for Penelope, walking beside her and calling her. She usually makes a little squeak when I walk past her, even if she’s hiding. But I didn’t hear anything, and then I turned a corner and saw her. She wasn’t far from Gizmo and then she was gone.”
She said she collapsed and immediately scooped the little body into her arms. “I must have held her for an hour,” she said. Keegan was heartbroken over the loss of his two beloved pets, and a homeowner’s rooster was also attacked and lost all of his tail feathers.
Cassandra said she initially wondered if it could have been a hawk or a fox, a predator looking for food, but none of the birds were really injured, aside from a broken neck. It appeared to be the work of neighborhood dogs, who probably viewed the birds as toys, picking them up and shaking them until the “toy” stopped moving and then moving on to the next one.
She has contacted animal protection and filed a complaint, but above all she wants the dog owners to acknowledge the incident and apologize.
“I understand that this is not the dogs’ fault,” she said. “But I also know that I’m terrified of running around freely right now.”
The family buried the two birds together in the garden and Keegan collected wildflowers and placed feathers on the grave to mark the spot.
“I miss her voice, the sound of her feet, her company,” Cassandra said of Penelope. “I miss them both.”
Keegan said he’s still sad about the loss, but last weekend he and Cassandra drove to Green Grables Farm outside Raleigh to meet and take home two new chickens. Both are four months old, the same age as Penelope when he got them. Their names, at least for now, are Janie and Cheche.
“It’s not Penelope, because they all have different personalities, but he’s already building a bond with them,” she said. “He said he was ready. I’m not sure I was, but here we go.”
