cATHEAD'S cRANKY wORLD

Poor keeper has been utterly distraught this past couple of weeks.
I keep trying to cheer him up by brushing my tail against his trouser bottoms as I stroll past, but all to no avail. Even the Dingo pup's daily playful antics such as leaping up at him and trying to slobber his face as she flies by are to no effect.

It all boils down to a sad episode that befell keeper the week before last - I heard him recounting it to his hypnotherapist - whom he nicknames "the hippo" - over the blower just three days back. Apparently keeper had been driving back from a cycling stint in Hertfordshire with his mountain bicycle strapped to the back of the camper as usual... and might have been daydreaming just a little.

Anyhows he was travelling at rounghy 40 MPH on an unlit stretch of road near Potters Bar, when a blur of a large bird flew straight out of the hedge right in his way. It was so close he hardly had time to brake and the poor feathered creature hit the windscreen right where his third eye would have been. Rather uncanny in fact.

He drove on aways in shock, then turned around and drove back the other way searching for the big bird in the roadway. He found it by headlight and stopped riskily as it was a very busy stretch of road.... and went to pick the poor dear creature up.,

It was a young Tawny Owl, but limp in keepers hands. He brought him back to the camper and stowed him in a carrier bag and started chanting names of God over him as he drove the poor Tawny to the vet college which is just around the corner... all the time stroking the still warm beautiful light brown (tawny) plumage.

He said he thought the bird struggled once so he stopped and tied the top of the bag loosely in case he tried to fly out into the van and cause commotion. Any hows keeper gets to the vet hospital and the nurses let him in with the carrier with Tawny. The senior lady vet inspects Tawny with as stethoscope and moves the birds neck and declares him dead with a broken neck.

Poor keeper came home distraught and crying and has hardly stopped since, He thinks he hears the owl's mate hooting for him in the early hours and wakes up sobbing. He's ever so guilty. Wow is a curse and a blessing to have such a loving heart I'd say. He feels guilty too about killing, albeit accidentally and no fault of his own, such a wondrous bird as Tawny. He was such a fine young specimen that the vet college phoned to say they'd stuffed him for display and for educating the young vet students .... and can you believe it they sent him a picture for his trouble in bringing him in!

So that's Tawny above.... and that was his tale that had to be told!

Would that there were more compassionates like keeper in this world, it would be a far happier place 4 sure.

'Scuse me while I paw a tear away from my encrusted slitty eye as well now... POOR TAWNY, I hope he is happy now and reincarnated inside a delightful Golden Eagle's egg up in the Highlands or something ).

Yowwww
CATHEAD