Shortly after Peter (a canary I "rescued" from a pet store) died in July 1998, a good friend who breeds canaries offered to send me one of hers as a gift, once the weather became cool enough.

One day later in the summer, my friend and I were chatting on AOL Instant Message about how I missed Peter. All of a sudden, one of her baby canaries began his first song. We both knew what that meant, and that little fellow (whom I named Sergi) was chosen to come to live with me when the weather changed.

On Friday, November 13, my friend took Sergi to her Post Office and shipped him by Overnight Express Mail, guaranteed to arrive at my home by 3 PM on Saturday.

When Sergi did not arrive on time, I began tracking him. There was no information on his whereabouts. Later, someone from the local Post Office called and said the bird had arrived at the downtown post office.

The tracking information revealed that Sergi had been left in other Post Office for more than 36 hours before he was shipped out there. He was delivered to me at about 9:30 AM on Sunday, about 48 hours after he was taken to the post office in the other city.

When I opened his box, Sergi had died enroute. His death was so tragic and so needless. This just should never have happened, and I hope that by telling this story other animals will not die such tragic deaths.

A Message From Sergi

From the time I hatched, I felt a special mission in life lay ahead of me. I spent my first few weeks in the nest with my sisters and brothers. Mom and Dad took such good care of us, but soon we all became fidgety and ready for the next phase of our life.

We fledged, and oh what a special day for me! I found such wonderful freedom in testing my wings for the first time. My days with my brothers and sisters included lots of flying time. Mom and Dad taught us well.

One day, I noticed my Earth Mom at her computer, talking to someone in great sorrow over the death of a bird like me. I wanted to comfort this person, so I began to sing. I learned later that my song had meant so much to both my Earth Mom and her friend. Then, I heard that I had been chosen to go and live with this person.

The months passed, and one day my Earth Mom told me the time had come to go to my new home. I sang with joy. She put me in a little cage inside a box with an ample supply of food for my journey. She took me to the shipping place and sent me on my way.

After a while, I realized that although I heard noise around me, I seemed to not be going on my trip. I waited to be moved, and while I waited, I ate some food, slept some, woke up, and nothing had changed. I still was not going anywhere. This continued for a long time. Soon my food supply was getting low. I wondered about singing. Maybe someone would hear me and would realize that I needed to begin my journey. But, the darkness caused me to fall asleep again.

The final time I woke up, I had no food left. I became so hungry and thirsty. If only someone would help me out of the darkness. . . .

As I continued to experience the darkness with no apparent end in sight, I decided the time had come for me to go to into the Light. I then felt myself surrounded by total joy, peace, and beauty. I became free of the small dark box when an Angel named Clint beckoned me to follow him. Up I flew until I found the Light.

After my flight, I looked through the clouds and saw my new Earth Mom bent over the little box I had traveled in. I saw her weeping and holding the little body I had left behind. I went to Clint, asking him how I could comfort her. After thinking about it for a while, we decided to send two gifts of love to her. The first would be a single feather on her doorstep that she would see the first thing one morning. The next gift would come in the form of our Littlest Bird Angel, Francis the Budgie, who would let Mommy know that Life never ends, but continues as long as there is Love in the world.