In Memoriam - Bruce

Bruce joined the BrightHaven family in January of 2002 after a local winery found themselves unable to keep him…. I believe his hobby in those days was to scare visitors away and so I guess they had an understandable problem!!

Bruce moved in to join our chicken family of girls and soon became their leader, although he loved nothing more than to hang out beside our door and peer in through the window at the cats and dogs inside.

Here you see him peeking in to say hello to dear Sophia, in her basket….. So, time passed with Bruce becoming a familiar sight at BrightHaven as he sped up and down the pasture in the front of our house – bravely doing his level best to scare off intruders, friends and volunteers too….. Most learned to enter via the house after their first experience!!

Two years after his arrival we were asked to accept a lady goose – a sweet girl with very deformed legs. Her name – Georgette. It seemed the perfect time for Bruce to have a lady friend or wife, and so we accepted eagerly, hoping the two would bond. And bond they did – until June of 2009 when dear Georgette died as the victim of a savage and unknown predator attack. The entire family grieved the loss of the sweet goose, who was always seen waddling closely by her loving husband’s side. Bruce remained alone and we wondered at his grief.

He spent his days and nights with the chicken girls and the duck boys and we hoped they were able to help bring closure and consolation to this handsome man, who had made such a wonderful husband for the last five years.

September 16th of 2009 saw great changes at BrightHaven as we rescued a sweet and lovely lady goose who had been dumped in a drop box at a shelter….. It seemed a heaven sent opportunity for Bruce to get a new lease on life again and so we took the plunge. Odette’s arrival caused quite a stir as she strutted in with her young and sweet ways with both humans and Bruce alike, although it has to be said she was very bossy with poor Ronnie and Reggie, the duck boys!

Odette loved at first to be held, carried and cuddled, making us realize she must have been someone’s pet…but gradually her own instincts took over as she bonded more closely with her fowl friends and Bruce. Odette quickly took the reins and became the boss, with Bruce treading along in her footsteps – now in his dotage and very happy to watch her leading the way.

Over time we pondered why Odette never laid eggs and wondered at her bossiness……until finally one day Fray announced she was sure Odette was, in fact a male!! Stunned we began to see the truth and yet s/he and Bruce were still the perfect pair. And so Odette became quietly Odie and life went on……… Until the day, just one short week before his death, when Fray came to tell me that our dear boy was in trouble and could barely stand, let alone walk. He was clearly dying and yet….Dr. Laurie Lofton came to the rescue to help us care for him in his final hours and Bruce responded but just a little to homeopathy.

At that time Gail's Mother was clearly approaching her own final days and Gail joked that Bruce would wait until she died so that they could fly away together (to save her using her broomstick!!). How right those words proved to be, as Mummy died September 16th at 515am and Bruce left later that morning – curled in Gail's lap in the garden – the place he loved the most.

 

“Peace my Heart” Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet. Let it not be a death, but completeness. Let love melt into memory and pain into songs. Let the flight through the night sky end in the folding of wings over the nest. Let the last touch of your hands be gentle, like the flower of the night. Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence. I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way. ~ Rabindranath Tagore

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