Petey Martin September 1995-June 27, 2011
There are times when life events catch you totally unaware. Like today. Katy, Allison and a friend came to swim at the Baker’s Pool. I walked over to join them after first answering the front door and signing a form for the postman. Allison was practicing for a swim lesson tomorrow. She wore a bubble vest and was jumping in the water, shouting, “Gigi aren’t you so proud of me?” I stayed about twenty minutes praising the girls then headed home.
As I walked up my front sidewalk I noticed Petey feathers at the edge of the porch. It took a second to reason why so many feathers. Then slowly I looked at the cage. A large amount of feathers were around the door opening and something was clinging to the door….a foot…I went in and called Wendell. It was so difficult to process the information. What had happened? Katy came quickly. She thought at first it must have been one of the dogs. Wendell was home in five minutes. He hugged me tightly. Then he went outside and picked up every feather and the foot and put them in a paper bag. The boys soon arrived.
Andy, Cy and Wendell did some investigative work. They checked the blood splatters. I thought it must have just happened, but couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard or seen anything. I had watered that morning and didn’t notice anything amiss when the postman came. We then remembered that early this morning just before sunrise, Trip and Zeppy had a terrible barking fit. Perhaps then. I only went to the front door during the afternoon when the postman rang the bell. He didn’t act like he had seen something unusual. I noticed nothing. There obviously was a big battle. I hope Petey bit “it” good.
Wendell reasoned it could not have been one of the dogs. It had to be something small enough to get in the cage, but strong enough to overtake Petey. Whatever creature it was, it totally ate Petey except for feathers and a foot. Wendell looked around quite a while to see if he could find more of him. Cy left for a Young Life meeting.
I thought the story was over and had written the beginning of this email. I needed to take a quick shower before we left for a weekly Bible study. As I passed my bedroom window I noticed Trip his paws up an oak tree sniffing. A few minutes later Wendell came back to our bedroom. He said, “Trip found the killer. It was a raccoon.” I looked out my bedroom window and sure enough down from one of the branches hung the backside and tail of a raccoon. I dressed and went outside. Wendell and Andy were nowhere in sight. I walked around the tree at a distance. I saw a tail when I stood on the Haver’s driveway and from our front sidewalk I could see a raccoon face.
Wendell and Andy drove in the driveway. They had gone to get the twenty-two. Andy eyes were red, moist and angry. He said, “Dad’s gonna get that raccoon.” Bravely Wendell slung the twenty two against his shoulder. Pop. Down fell a raccoon. I stared at the twittering raccoon body. Andy and Wendell stared at the tree. Pop. Another raccoon body fell to the ground. Startled I stood staring at two pulsating bodies when I heard pop number three and a third raccoon fell from the tree. No wonder Petee didn’t have a chance.
Andy videoed the shooting, then came and hugged me.
Surprisingly we slept well. I think it was because we knew what happened, who, where, what…not when…but it seemed irrelevant.
This morning I took the paper sack and wrapped it in black burlap. Andy dug a hole right on top of where we buried Zinke six years ago. Wendell placed Petey in the grave. Cy sprinkled sunflower seeds over him. Andy read this poem he wrote:
I remember we fed you an apple
Maybe, we should have named you Snapple.
An African Gray
who whistled Andy Griffith the right way
What happened in June you didn’t deserve,
But who are we to question God’s will or his word.
Your name came with so much ease
…Petey, My bird.
Our bird.
All my friends wondered if you could talk, well, you could, and
We loved you.
The three boys whistled the Andy Griffith theme song. Benediction Petey.
Just in case you feel sorry for the raccoons…I did some research later.
Raccoons can cause substantial damage. In urban areas, raccoons damage building (particularly attics and roofs), gardens, fruit trees, lawns, garbage cans and trash containers. They are also attracted to pet food left outdoors and will attack pets. Occasionally, one or more raccoons will establish a communal toilet area resulting in time of the deposition of a large number of scats. In rural areas, raccoons may feed on farm crops or raid poultry houses. A raccoon typically attacks birds by biting the head or upper neck area. The heads of adult birds are usually bitten off and left some distance from the body. The crop and breast may be torn and chewed and the entrails eaten. Raccoons have been known to mutilate poultry in cages by pulling heads or legs off. Several kills may be made during a single night raid with part of one or more carcasses fed upon. Dead fowl may be at the kill site or dragged several yards away. Raccoons are also serious predators of wild bird populations. Reports indicate that raccoons have been responsible for eliminating local populations of some nesting waterfowl.
