A dove's tale

A ground dove. My familiar brought one to the front door. My cats are always catching things -- chipmunks, voles, squirrels, the occasional bird (which is a good trick for the declawed one) -- and leaving them at the front door. Sometimes, they manage to slip by and deposit them inside the house. I can't tell you how many chipmunks I've had to chase out, including one that I had to pry off a glue trap that had been under the fridge. Usually, though, I'm scraping an uneaten carcass off the pavement or the deck and carrying it via shovel to the surrounding fauna to let nature take care of the disposal. I've never seen either of the cats actually eat their kills. Not even a nibble.

This day, the bird was alive, dropped at the front door. My roommate was telling the cat how good he is and to remove the bird from the deck. Knowing that this wasn't going to happen, I reached for the dove, saying, "Don't you dare bite me. I'm trying to help you." I scooped it up and held it in both hands to keep it from fluttering, falling and further injuring itself.

The deck wraps around two sides of the house, connecting the front and back doors and leading to a fenced in area in the back. I carried the dove into the fenced yard, found a good hiding spot for it and gently laid it on the ground behind a tree. I simply walked off.

When I returned to the front door, I noticed a tiny pool of blood that had settled into a groove in one of the boards of the deck. It was bright red. There was also water mixed with it, as it had been steadily drizzling all morning (another reason I was wanting to get inside).

Something made me turn around, to see if it was seriously injured that I would be able to tell. I went back, scooped it up again, then adjusted its left wing to pull it out and check underneath. There had been no blood on my hands when I carried the dove the first time, so checking under the wing seemed logical. Indeed, there was a patch of blood underneath the wing, to the side and below the breast. It was a puncture wound, presumably from the cat's claws or teeth. It had already clotted.

I had a brief conversation with the dove, telling it that I was going to see what I could do about it, not to bite me and what I would do if it did (which was probably a lie). I stared it in the eye then carried it between my hands into the kitchen. Needing one hand free, I made another admonition and removed one hand to fetch a rag from under the sink. The bird leaned into me and snuggled down. I lifted the wing again and pressed very gently on the injury, and because there was already clotting, it was more or less a clean-up job than an actual help.

Leaving the rag, I took the dove back outside and opened my hands to let it go. It sat. I bounced my arms to encourage it to fly off. It wrapped its tiny taloned feet around my fingers. I moved my hands next to a branch, telling it to go on. It cocked its head at me, then made its way down my arm away from the branch.

Maybe it was in pain, I thought. I brought it back to me, cupped in one hand to free the other and walked around for more than an hour in the drizzle of rain with a dove snuggled against my stomach. I pet it; I talked to it. I talked on the phone, fed the animals, fixed drinks, picked up toys from the back deck.

My son came out to look at the dove early on. He smiled at it, talked to it, then he turned to me. "He belongs with the other birds, Mama. We can't keep him."

"I know that, thank you," I said. "He's very sick and not ready to go yet. But you're right. We're not keeping him."

He went back to playing.

Throughout this time I tried getting the bird to eat and drink. I tried Reiki, which it soaked up. I tried getting the bird to rest in a basket, which led to an incredible freak-out until I picked it up again. It settled right back down. It sat bobbing its head, chicken-like, looking around while I walked, did chores and so forth.

I attempted getting the bird to leave on its own a few times before finally, it did. It transferred to a branch of a tree then flew off through the fence to land somewhere on the ground. I checked on it a few times throughout the day, chased the cat away once. It moved around within a one-foot space, mostly resting.

Later than night after putting my son to bed and laying down myself, I heard one of my cats howling, which he is wont to do when he is either in want of attention or has caught something. He always howls at the most irritating times of day.

I got up, grabbed a flashlight, went outside and started calling him. The howling stopped, then he appeared, coming from under my van, meowed once, turned around and went back under. I followed him, circling the van with my flashlight until I saw him. He was eating a bird. All that was left at this point were the legs and the bottom portion of the torso, and in the lack of light I couldn't identify what the cat had thus far left. I went back to bed.

I checked on the dove the next morning. It was gone. It was only at this moment that the thought that the cat might have been eating the dove struck me. I searched around the van where the cat had been dining on bird but could find no trace of any meal whatsoever -- not even a feather.

I've worked with many animals in the past, and this struck me as one of the more interesting encounters. The dove never attempted to bite me, didn't make any sound, didn't struggle to get free. I would assume that it was partially shock, especially at the beginning. Nor did it shake like a frightened animal. It acted as though he was accustomed to being held.

It took me a couple of days to identify the bird, a ground dove, then I set about researching the dove totem. The following is what I found:

• Unexpected and unseen support and assistance comes when needed most.

• Travel often is indicated and may include relocation to a new home.

• Death, physical or symbolic, may occur and may bring grief but with a sense of relief and gratitude that suffering is ended and peace will soon be at hand.

• A new relationship may begin or an old one rekindled.

• The ways and means of leaving a destructive and difficult situation will be presented. Life is to become more peaceful and satisfying on all levels.

• "You are being asked to go within and release your emotional disharmony, be it the past or the present. Dove helps us to rid trauma stored within our cellular memory. Humming can help you with this release."

• The dove symbolizes love, gentleness, new ideas, purity, sexual energy, intimate relationships, creativity, peace, family values, centered calmness, tranquility, support, assistance, new relationships, peaceful transition from difficulty, powers of the feminine, friendship.

• Numbers: 2 and 7

• Associated with the Seven Sisters constellation (the Plaedies) and its Greek mythology.

• Dove also symbolizes home and family, the maternal, prophecy and is a messenger of the spirit.

Sources: http://morningstar.netfirms.com, http://www.manizone.co.uk, http://www.shamanicjourney.com

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