Ra the Bird from the Temple

To my fellow readers, we not only rescue/feed dogs and cats but once, we saved a bird. It was quite a while ago when the shed was still under construction and it was raining rather heavily. Below is what has been written by one of the volunteer’s daughter,Kylie,as she too want to share her rescue story.

‘My whole family came to the temple to help clean the puppies and interact with them. After at least 10 minutes there, my dad(who claimed to be non animal lover) spotted a tiny bird near the side of the small running river, completely drenched and unable to fly. My mom called me over to catch the bird because i had a piece of cloth in my hand. But in the end, my dad caught it and handed the bird to me. I held the fragile little bird in my hand during the whole trip home and refused to leave it as I believe it will not make it in the wet and cold temple. It needed heat and a warm surrounding.

I named it Ra after one of the most powerful God in Egypt. I didn't know the gender of the bird but the name seemed neutral enough ;)

After we brought Ra home, I put it in a plastic basket as I do not have a proper bird cage , I wrapped a towel around a heat pack to provide warmth, and put some rice and water for little Ra. Ra was still very afraid of the new surrounding and whenever I peek at it, it would flutter around in panic. So, I left it alone. But every once in a while, I changed the water and again it would panic

At night, I played calming Buddhist chants as I have read from Dr Chan Kah Yien’s book that it seem to help her animals in need. Eventually, Ra fell asleep listening to the chant. So, I guess it helped Ra too.

After 2 days, we had to return Ra to the temple, where it was found. It was quite a miracle to see Ra fly because it looked so scrawny on the day we rescued it. Ra looked so healthy and strong on the day we took it back to the temple. When I took off the lid of the basket, Ra peeked outside to get a glimpse of its surroundings and and flew towards a flock of birds whom I presume is its family members

I couldn’t recognize which was Ra because the whole flock look alike. Well, birds of a feather flock together so i didn’t expect him to go fly with the crows. Seeing it fly was actually one of the most joyful things I have ever experienced this year. It gave me a sense of fulfillment and pride.

Through this experience, which I never would’ve thought i would do, i have learnt to help one in need and the feeling of fulfillment and pride gave me motivation to help more in future’

Kylie, thanks for sharing your experience. We hope more children will come forward to help others