Amaroo – beautiful place

With our gaze settled upon her shiny black beautiful form – the rich redness of her comb, wattles and face only accentuating this – she pecked away, with feverish delight, at the eclectic mix of grains before her.

We offered our gratitude for her finding her way into our world, as we paused to think of the harrowing experience she had endured to get here.

Spied after having been dumped roadside, where she quickly took refuge in dense bushes. For five long days and fearful nights she had existed by all of the smarts the little hen could muster.

Alas, human kindness was not one of them.

Until it was.

The worn-down and weary hen was taken to a nearby specialist avian veterinary clinic. Yet despite this all, we are told she too was plucky, and having known her but a short while, this is something we can readily attest.

Here she was gently bathed on more than one occasion to remove the putrid faecal matter and clay-like substance that had cocooned her emaciated form. And by what horrendous experience she had undergone to cause the critical bumblefoot that now plagues both her precious little legs, we shall never know.

But what we did know about this little hen, as the clock ticked closer to midnight, was that she had nested down, in not one but two beautiful places. A beautiful place that is sanctuary and a beautiful place that is our hearts. All she needed then to make the day complete was a most fitting of names.

This we readily found in the name ‘Amaroo’, for it means a beautiful place. A place all animals belong.

Footnote to this story – we give thanks to our friends at Amaroo Wildlife Sanctuary and Scoresby Avian Veterinary Clinic for digging deep into that beautiful place in your hearts and, with the kindness found there, ensuring little Amaroo would never be forgotten again. Namaste.