Through tears, I write this.

My dear little friend Cutty passed away in my hands this morning.

It was very quick, seemingly painless, and very peaceful.

I will give more details later, but ask that for now you all say a prayer for Cutty's little soul to rest in peace.

I loved him SO much and my heart is broken.

Thank you all more than I can ever say or ever tell you for all your love toward my special special little man.

Michelle

I'm so sorry.

There are just no words Michelle, I am so sorry. You did so much for him and I know that he is smiling down on you now in gratitude. You are an inspiration for all of us who have followed Cutty's story from the very beginning. Many hugs to you during this difficult time - Mary and Petey

OMG! I'm SO unbelieveably sorry!
Cutty was such a sweet baby, and was absolutely blessed to have you and your DH as his parronts! Thank you so much for watching over him and making his time so comfortable.

All my love and thoughts to both of you in this time of sorrow....

Michelle,
I'm so sorry! My heart is breaking for you and Cutty. Thank you for giving him such a loving home and the best medical care! I know he loves you and appreciated everything you did for him and all the love you poured out to him. My prayers for you and Cutty. He was a very special bird!

Hugs,
Jan, Taavi (QP), Tory (M2) & Jesse (LSC2)

My heart and prayers go out to you in your time of grief.

Very sorry to hear this, although I'm sure He is very grateful to you.

Oh my goodness Michelle, I am so shocked to hear about Cutty. I am so sorry your little friend passed on. You were working so hard to help him regain his health, and he will never forget that. I always admired you for your strength and determination, as I'm sure many others here do as well. I will say a prayer for him and for your family too, and hope that your pain grows less with time. Rest in peace little Cutty, you fought so hard

Michelle
I am so sorry. Please find comfort knowing you gave him the best care possible and gave him a life many others wouldn't have. He was much loved by everyone here and will be missed.
Take care

I'm so very sorry to hear this. I don't even have words to express how sad we are.

<<<hugs>>>

You will be in out good thoughts.

Cutty couldn't have asked for a better, more caring set of parronts.

Summer

Oh my gosh......All of our hearts are broken of this sad news....All I can say at the moment is what a shock to hear this...

My heart goes out to you Michelle and Mark for all the good you did for Cutty...Rest In Peace Little Fella....

Michelle & Mark,

I am so sorry for your loss. Just know that you both did so much for little Cutty. He was so LUCKY to have you for Parronts. You gave him a great life and he loved you.

Cutty was a fighter!

Hugs,

Sandi

Rest in peace Cutty - you are very loved and will be missed. God bless you in the heavens beyond. I'm soo sorry.
Michelle & Mark - you were true saints for this little boy and gave him a quality of life that he might never have had if you were not his parronts - I'm just so sorry and sad right now for you guys.

Sent you a PM to express my sympathy!

OH!! God Bless your heart for all you two did! I was in tears after I read that. I will say a prayer for Cutty and you two as well!

My heart goes out to you!!!

Michelle, at least he's not suffering. I applaud (sp) you for efforts, and I hope that you can find comfort in the fact he will be healthy and free above. I'm so sorry for your loss.

My thoughts are with you, hubby and Nico. You did a wonderful thing for this little bird, now he is free & healthy with his angel wings watching over you!

I'm so sorry

Wendy

I am so very sorry. My thoughts will be with you and Cutty.

Michelle and Mark, I'm so very sorry. I think my heart skipped a beat when I read the post. You know that you did absolutely everything for him that you could, and his life (and all of ours) was better because of it. Please accept my condolences...

My heart crys with you!

I am so very sorry.

<<<<hugs>>>>>>

Our thoughts will be with you and Cutty.

Oh Michelle .. I am so very sorry for your loss ... I started crying as soon as I received a message from Robyn about Cutty ...

Your Little Man has affected so many people and your love for him is evident in every single post and blog entry.. You and Mark have worked wonders with Cutty and in doing so have made his life so much more fullfilling .. I'm sure he knows it!

My heart just breaks for you ..

My thoughts and prayers for Cutty, you and Mark ..

I am praying that your little one is in quaker heaven with all that have gone before him to make his transition easier. Rest assured he is healty now. Hugs to you.

I don't even know what to say to you all or how to thank you for your warm expressions of sadness OR your months of care and concern for Cutty.

I want you all to know that I have cried after reading every single one of your kind posts...

I'm working on a blog entry now, but I have to stop every paragraph or so because the tears come back. I knew I would miss him when he left us; I just didn't think I would miss him this much or he would leave us this soon.

Here is a cut and paste of part of the blog entry:

Everything was completely normal here - a totally typical morning. Around 11, I heated Cutty's syringe breakfast in the microwave, got a towel and went to Cutty's cage. I took Cutty out and held him against the towel against my chest. I said good morning and told him he was a good bird...we went into the kitchen where I weighed him on the gram scale - 110 grams today. We went back into the living room and I sat on the couch with the jar of Cutty food and the syringe, a cup of warm water to wash his beak and feathers after he eats, the box of kleenex (to pick up any poops) and the telephone in case someone called. Totally typical.

I held Cutty against my chest and faced him to me and offered him the warm food. As he has been doing on and off for the past couple months, he looked at the syringe but didn't open his beak, so I kind of gently forced the syringe into his beak and tilted his head back a little while wiggling the syringe and slowly squeezing a little of the warm formula into his mouth. He didn't seem particually interested in eating, but he did - over the course of about 15 minutes - eat 10 ccs. I snuggled him for a few minutes but not as long as I sometimes do because I had to go to work later.

I scooped him up and started walking back toward his cage, and as he always does he flapped his wings good and hard as I got close to his cage. I placed him on the towel in the sunlight that was coming through the window (he LOVES to be in the sunlight!), and held onto him a second until he got his balance. TOTALLY TYPICAL STUFF!

He leaned forward and strained a little bit to poop, just as he always does. However, this time, after he pooped he stayed in the leaned over position and didn't stumble forward as usual. I got the feeling something was wrong and said, "Cutty?" As I was reaching into the cage to put my hand around him, he looked up at me.

When I was in college in my early 20s, we had a dog who was old and suffered from occasional seizures. When he had a seizure, you could literally SEE the fear and terror and confusion in his eyes. I always felt so helpless with that dog, and it is a look I will never forget...I saw none of that in Cutty's eyes. He looked - other than the prolonged lean forward - perfectly Cuttyesque...

As soon as my hand wrapped around him, his little body went completely limp and his eyes closed and his lean forward became a fall forward. I thought, "Oh GOD NO!" and turned him over in my hand, onto his back....for a split second, I thought, "I am going to do birdie CPR," but as soon as that thought crossed my mind I realized both that Cutty was gone and that he wouldn't want me to do CPR - even if I did know how to...he would want me to let him go.

I turned him back over onto his feet and laid his limp little body onto the towel. I pet his feathers and told him over and over again that I loved him. I just kept saying, "Oh little buddy...I love you so much. I am so sorry. Oh little buddy..." I just kept petting his feathers...I didn't want to leave his side...

I miss him so much...

You are my hero.

Okay, now I'm crying....

Sounds like he wanted mommy there with him when he started his trip to the rainbow bridge...

My heart is aching for you....

I'll say a prayer for you all tonight.....

I'm in tears as i read this. im so sorry about cutty. you were such a great parront to him. praying for you in your loss.

I'm so sorry ....

I'm So sorry I know how it feels to lose one it's taken me 6 years before having the courage of getting a new bird. Sunny was my best friend and he past away one year just before christmas I kept his bell he used to play with at all times of the day/night. I also made a flower bed with all of my favortie flowers from daisy,sunflower,to Zinnias where i layed him to rest with an Angel statue holding a little bird. Gordon looks just like him so its hard to look at him sometimes not say hey Sunny but i'm doing it I love Gordon already. Sunny will always be in my heart and Now I have made room for my new little Green stud. If there's anything i can do to help I would love to help.

Oh Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear this. You and Mark worked so hard to give Cutty a better happier life and I know that he loved you for everything you did. If only he had found you earlier in his life things might have been different for our little hero.

Rest well little one

I am so, so sorry, Michelle. I know you went above and beyond to help poor Cutty thru his suffering. My heart goes out to you. (((((HUGS)))))

I am so sorry to hear of your loss! My own Oatie is very ill at the vet's as I write this, I can only imagine how you must feel because we almost lost ours yesterday. My thoughts and prayers go out to you.

My thots exactly (((( Michelle and Mark ))))

With healing light, gail

OMg I can't stop crying reading this.(((Hugs)))

I've just read your entire blog. You were amazing parronts and Cutty was a lucky little guy. My heart aches for you.

Michelle, you and Mark both know how much I wanted Cutty to be well and healthy. He was such a fighter and such a trooper.
He went through so much with trips to the vet and medications.

I'm so glad to have been around for his truly inspirational story. Of course I was hoping for a happy, healthy outcome. If only there had been some way to make it all go away and have him healthy again.

The life and story of Cutty has been an immense source of inspiration to me, and will continue to colour the way I love my birds FOREVER.

That will be Cutty's legacy. He showed me through you, the way to treat birds with love and respect, and to never give up no matter the cost, the effort and the heartbreak.

You also know how much I respect the two of you for all you did for Cutty. Totally unbelievable. Truly humbling.

And finally Cutty, take your well deserved rest little man, you deserve it. May your reward over the rainbow bridge repay all the trials you faced in life.

Ron

I told Cutty all the time that I wanted him to have as many years of LOVE as he did of abuse and neglect. It truly breaks my heart that I just couldn't make that happen for him. I so hope he knew, in his last seven months, how deeply I loved him, how truly devoted I was to him, and now, how very very much I miss him.

I found this online, and wanted to share:

A thousand tears or more these eyes have cried and a thousand more lay in wait.
I am bathed with them, and yet my heart is still broken, and all that is within me aches with the loss of you.

There is never a time for this that is right; never a way that can prepare the heart for this emptiness.
You have passed through my arms too soon, like sand flowing through fingers. I could not hold you here, though I would try.

I know that your spirit is finally at rest, and in the quiet depths of my heart, I can feel you still,
but now, flying free, as you were meant to be...skimming the surface between heaven and earth.

Sorry to hear about Cutty.

Their is a special place for Cutty at rainbowbridge , think of him well happy and flying high with all our fids that are there ..
Your heart must be breaking and I feel for you I know its a terrible loss and words cannot take that pain away ...
You are both very special people for the care and dedication you gave Cutty while he was in your flock ..
Hugs to you and have fun flying free Cutty you were a stong little man who was loved by all who knew you through your loving human flock..

I'm so sorry! As I'm typing, I'm crying. I know I'm new here, but Cutty's story inspired me to be the best parront (and parent) I can be.

Tari

I am so sorry.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Cutty.
God Bless.

I feel like I've lost a member of my own flock. A few days ago, i lost a tiel - she was over 18 yrs old, and I'd only had her a few months, and it was an "expected" death. I didn't cry when she died...... Dh came home tonight as I was reading Michelle's post of what happened w/ Cutty...He honestly thought another of our flock had died today... I could barely tell him Cutty's story thru the tears....
I've followed Cutty's story since the first time Charley posted. I've been amazed & in complete awe of how Michelle & Mark cared for Cutty. Cutty was such a lucky bird to have them, and they were so blessed to have known & cared for him.

I am truly heartbroken that "our" beloved Cutty is gone. Cutty...bless you, and keep a look out for my Gertie....she no doubt needs a friend to fly free with over the bridge..

I wish so much that Charley had not deleted all his postings...I'd love nothing more right now than to go back to that very first posting about "Cutty".

Wendy

Michelle, I am so sorry to hear this sad news of Cutty.He was such a trooper,He was loved by so many of us & will be missed very much.

I am very, very sorry to hear this.

You and Mark have been an awe inspiring inspiration to me. I remember thinking he was truly "Lucky" to have found you!!

I hope Nico adjusts well and your loss is healed.

You are both in my thoughts.

Michelle I am so sorry!

OMG I am so sorry to hear this. R. I. P. Cutty. we will love you always.

Oh Michelle! I am truly sorry. Cutty has been a part of this board for so long. We've shared in your excitements and dissapointments and your worries. I, like Wendy, feel like I've lost one of my own flock. Cutty was such a special bird and he was a very blessed bird to have found his way into your home.

My thoughts are with you and Mark.

Hugs

Oh my my my

We are truly sorry to hear the sad news...

You had a very special little soul, I'm sure he was sent to you for a reason and what ever lesson he was sent to teach, has obviously been accomplished and his tired little body is at peace at last.

Cutty's story has touched many lives, we are all going to miss him.

Take care and know that you were the best possible parronts any birdie could have hoped for.

Our thoughts are with you.

So very sorry to hear about Cutty, may he rest in peace, and hugs to you both for being so kind and caring.