Written and photographed by Dorraine Fawcett
Here follows the frightening story of how I almost lost my best friend in the blink of an eye, and how this little white-and-yellow bird and I fought hard for her to live.
The underdog I couldn’t leave behind
A little bit of background: About seven years ago I walked into a pet shop and saw little Buddy sitting there. She was only eight weeks old and still on hand-feeding formula. She wasn’t the prettiest cockatiel I’ve ever seen and her little head was almost completely bald. Apparently that’s a lutino cockatiel trait when there’s been too much inbreeding, or so I’ve been told, but I also think she was bullied by her siblings and there might have been a bit of plucking involved.
Nobody chose her, and because I’ve always had a soft spot for the underdog, I chose Buddy that day. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Eventually her tiny feathers grew out, and now you can only see a slight bald spot on her head. She became my best friend and literally my little buddy.
I continued to hand-feed her until she was about 12 weeks old and could eat on her own, and she became very bonded to me.
Our life together
As we live in a small apartment, Princess Buddy isn’t a caged bird. At night she even sleeps in her own tree that I planted for her in a pot, but most of the time she nestles on my head in my hair until I place her in her tree. Her happiest place to be is on my shoulder or sitting on my head.
Initially, we guessed that she was a boy, so we named her “Buddy”, but to our surprise, little Buddy laid an egg, so she became “Princess Buddy”.
Princess Buddy is the sweetest, gentlest little bird ever, and I don’t think she knows she’s a bird… she just thinks she’s my little daughter.
She even went on holiday with me. Now and again, especially after a busy work season, I’d take Princess Buddy with me in her carry case and we’d book into a pet-friendly accommodation for a few days in Jeffreys Bay, just to rest a bit.
A girls’ trip to Jeffreys Bay
So, on the 19th of May, Princess Buddy and I hit the road to Jeffreys Bay. We booked into a beachfront accommodation where we’ve stayed numerous times before and have never had any issues there. We were so looking forward to our little holiday... our little “girls-only vaycay”.
We were on the second storey with a beautiful sea view and balcony. We had the loveliest time there. I made us popcorn and we watched girly movies together; Buddy was enjoying herself sitting on her stand looking out the window and we just had an all-around lovely time there.
The night of the attack
Then, the fateful night of the 20th of May... Little Buddy was sitting on her stand in the kitchen (it’s an open plan kitchen/lounge area). I decided to go out onto the balcony to take pictures of the stars.
I left the door open just about 10cm and, since there was a thick curtain hanging over the door, I didn’t think she’d be able to fly out. I thought it was okay to leave the door open just those few centimetres. The last thing on my mind was the possibility that something would enter the apartment through that door at that time of the night, since we were on the second storey and I was standing right there.
Something important to mention is that earlier that evening I’d received a WhatsApp from the accommodation manager to tell me that there’d be a power failure in Jeffreys Bay that evening until about 5am – but that we’d be okay since they have an inverter, although I must just refrain from using the appliances.
I also noticed that I was the only person booked into that huge house that night. I was all alone there with little Buddy and the apartment manager didn’t live on the premises.
So, back to me standing on the balcony taking pictures – and this is where the craziness starts... It was about midnight and I was happily snapping away, taking my star pictures, when I dropped my phone. It fell hard on the deck, cracking the back – and now both my SIM cards didn’t work. The battery would no longer charge and I only had about 30% battery life left on the phone.
I couldn’t phone anyone and no one could phone me.
I quickly linked my phone to the accommodation’s Wi-Fi and sent my husband a message to tell him that I could only communicate with him over WhatsApp through the Wi-Fi. Really disappointed, I went out onto the balcony again.
A scream in the night
Two minutes later, I heard the most bloodcurdling scream I’ve ever heard in my life. I was confused – maybe Princess Buddy had accidentally flown into the wall and maybe hurt a pin feather or something. But, honestly, my brain couldn’t comprehend what on earth was going on, because I’d never in my life heard her scream like that.
It was a very loud, horrifying scream.
I rushed into the apartment, closing the door behind me to stop Buddy from potentially flying out (thank goodness I did, otherwise I probably would have lost Buddy forever). When I got inside, I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing: feathers all over the floor and one of the heavy wooden dining chairs lying upside down.
Buddy was walking on the floor close to the door looking frazzled, one wing dragging. I was confused and horrified at the same time, and then, suddenly from behind the balcony door curtain, a large Genet – a cat-like carnivore in the mongoose family – dashes and grabs Buddy right there in front of me. His plan was obviously to run out the door with her.
Fight, fear, and survival
I was so shocked that I immediately grabbed one of her perches – a wooden stick – and started swinging it at the intruder, screaming.
The Genet dropped Buddy. I immediately picked her up before he could grab her again. I was so shocked and terrified at the same time. He then launched at me, trying to get to her in my arms, but I screamed so loud that he immediately turned around and tried running out the balcony door.
But the door was still closed, so the Genet was running up and down behind the curtain against the glass door. I was horrified – I just wanted to get him out of the apartment quickly, so I reached over and opened the door slightly and he ran out. I just remember that long fluffy black-and-white striped tail so clearly. He was really big.
I immediately closed the door and placed Buddy on the table next to her stand to assess the situation. She really looked in a bad state and was hyperventilating. I was sure she was busy dying and I myself was in so much shock. I quickly Googled and found an emergency vet’s number in Jeffreys Bay. Still linked to the accommodation’s Wi-Fi, I sent my husband a video of Princess Buddy, quickly telling him what happened and asked him to please contact the emergency vet for me, since my phone’s SIM cards weren’t working and I couldn’t phone anyone.
My poor husband was devastated. We all love Princess Buddy so much. He felt so helpless because he was so far from me.
Darkness falls
I mentioned to him that there was supposed to be a power failure in Jeffreys Bay and that he must please hurry before my power goes off because then the Wi-Fi will go off and no one will be able to get hold of me.
He phoned me on WhatsApp and assured me he’d quickly call the vet and then phone me back to let me know where to go. I’d literally just put the phone down when, suddenly, darkness!
The power is off and all communication between me and the outside world is cut. Now there was no way for my husband or the vet to get hold of me and I’m sitting all alone in this apartment with no candles, no flashlight, no communication with the outside world and a severely injured bird. I felt so helpless and didn’t know what to do.
The whole town was in complete darkness. I was cut off from the outside world.
Helpless and isolated
I realised that all I could do was wait until the power came back on at 5am, then quickly pack up, drive the hour back to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and take her to a vet there. And just pray that little Princess Buddy would survive.
There was literally nothing else I could do. I couldn’t pack up in the dark. There was no way for me to get to the vet – I didn’t even know if my husband had managed to get hold of a vet. It was the most helpless I’ve ever felt in my life.
From the way she was breathing, I was convinced that she was dying. I was completely devastated. I placed her on my head in my hair where I knew she’d feel safe and comfortable, close to me, and laid down on the couch, waiting for 5am and the power to come on.
Afterwards the vet told me it was the best thing I could do because she needed to be kept warm. Eventually she stopped with the heavy breathing and I was worried when she went quiet, convinced she’d passed. Then suddenly I felt her adjust her little feet on my head and I was so relieved! I became hopeful that she’d make it.
I laid awake that whole night, from time to time taking pictures of her sitting on my head in the dark with the camera flash on, just to make sure she was still alive. It was the longest, scariest night of my life. At the same time, I was also scared that the Genet might somehow find his way back into the apartment and grab her off my head. Needless to say, I felt like I was a real-life character in a horror film. We lay like that until 5am, waiting for the power to be restored.
Dawn, emergency response, and a race to the vet
The lights came back on at 05h30. I immediately packed up, put Princess Buddy in her carry case and prepared to make my way back to Gqeberha. I quickly connected to the Wi-Fi and sent my husband a message to tell him she was still alive and that we were on our way back home! At that stage my phone only had about 5% battery life left.
I was just so relieved that she was still alive and, all the way back home, I prayed and asked God to please let my little bird live.
On returning home, my husband was in tears and so happy to see that Princess Buddy had made it through the night. He himself had had the longest night.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, at 1am, my husband had organised the emergency vet. She’d waited for me at the BP garage, but because of the power failure, and my phone’s SIM cards and Wi-Fi not working, neither of them could get hold of me to tell me about the arrangement, so eventually they gave up and she went home. She honestly deserves a big thank you, because, woman alone, she went out of her way to try and help me by waiting for me in the darkness at the BP garage. My poor husband really thought that Buddy had passed and great was his relief when I arrived home that morning with an alive Princess Buddy! He was so worried.
A 24-hour wait
We rushed Princess Buddy to the Mount Croix Animal Clinic in Glendinningvale, where Dr Lucy looked at Buddy. Thankfully, Buddy had no broken bones, but there was a wound on her right side where the Genet’s fang entered her little body, one wing was injured, and there was bruising all over her body.
Dr Lucy gave her antibiotics and pain medication and told us that the first 24 hours would determine if Princess Buddy would make it or not.
The recovery journey
The first few days after the attack little Buddy just slept most of the time and only drank water. She didn’t eat, and in the beginning she sometimes threw up the water. The vet said that her throat must’ve been very sore and swollen from the loud screaming. I was so worried about her and she only started eating soft foods by day four. I’d make her scrambled eggs, sweet potato, butternut and baby parrot formula.
For the first three days, we took her back to the vet each morning for an antibiotic injection. Eventually, Buddy started eating seeds and pellets together with her soft foods, but I noticed that her food didn’t digest properly and I had to take her back to the vet.
Dr Matt had a look at her and prescribed another round of antibiotics, which I had to administer orally. Poor Buddy didn’t like the taste of it, but eventually her digestive system healed up and everything was back to normal. The wound on her side healed up nicely and now there’s only a small bald spot left. We’re so grateful that Princess Buddy survived.
Healing, gratitude – and a warning to pet owners
She’s my little girl and I love this little bird so incredibly much. I can’t even imagine my life without her. I thank God for saving her that night. She’s such a strong little bird and her will to survive and fight the Genet off got her through everything. She’s now her cute and playful self again and what happened that night in Jeffreys Bay is just a distant memory.
I’d just like to warn people with small pets to be careful. In my wildest dreams I never thought a wild Genet would climb up onto a second-storey balcony and enter our apartment to attack my pet, but it happened. I’m just forever grateful to God and the wonderful vets who helped us and that we still have our precious Princess Buddy in our lives.
You can follow Princess Buddy on Instagram: @princess.buddy.the.cockatiel
