Freedom The Eagle
Oct 29th, 2009 by Carolyn Resnick Method
Hi. Thank you so much for all your comments to my post on Tuesday. There is always a danger when you are in the public eye and you say something, so your support is very much appreciated. I hear from Mark that the campaign is really starting to get some momentum and if you go back to www.DressageDisgrace.com, there is lots more information there and ways you can help.
Thank you too for the stories you have been sending and I’d like to share with you the following one, which came from Jeff. It’s the kind of story you need when it seems like the world is spiralling out of control.
Enjoy your weekend
Carolyn
Freedom and I have been together 10 years this summer. She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way even after surgery, it was broken in 4 places. She’s my baby.
When Freedom came in she could not stand and both wings were broken. She was emaciated and covered in lice. We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vets office. From then on, I was always around her. We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks.
This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked like death was winning. She was going to be put down that Friday and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go to the center that Thursday, because I couldn’t bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear. I went immediately back to her cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle. She was ready to live. I was just about in tears by then. That was a very good day.
Jeff and Freedom
We knew she could never fly, so the director asked me to glove train her. I got her used to the glove, and then to jesses, and we started doing education programs for schools in western Washington. We wound up in the newspapers, radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.
In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of chemo. Lost the hair – the whole bit. I missed a lot of work. When I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time and time again.
Fast forward to November 2000, the day after Thanksgiving. I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after eight rounds of chemo, then my last option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they did the tests and I had to come back Monday for the results. I went in Monday, and I was told that all the cancer was gone.
So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her up, and we went out front to the top of the hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them pressing in on my back (I was engulfed in eagle wings), she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my eyes and we just stood there like that for I don’t know how long. That was a magic moment. We have been soul mates ever since she came in. This is one very special bird.
On a side note: I have had people who were sick come up to us when we are out, and Freedom has some kind of hold on them. I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us and I let him hold her. His knees just about buckled and he swore he could feel her power course through his body. I have so many stories like that.
I never forget the honor I have of being so close to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom.
Jeff and Freedom 2
No related posts.
LOVED that story. My mentor sent that to me when we were talking about the volunteer work I do with my dog. I have an amazing yellow lab named Bardy, and together, we are part of a K9 Search and Rescue team. Once or twice a week I am out in one of the state parks (So. California) running around with him, training…and it just takes my breath away how he can track someone down…even with trails that are hours or a day old in all kinds of weather.
Animals are a treasure…especially when you develop a bond with them.
Keep going Freedom!
Beautiful story!
What a great story!
Everyone who enjoyed this story about Freedom would probably love the book published recently entitled Wesley the Owl. It's written by a woman, who when she was a young biology student at Caltech, committed to raising a 4-day owl, knowing it would imprint on her for life when it opened its eyes. Her story is so touching and includes similar wing span hug moments. It's another story that will undoubtedly add to evolution of opening human thought to the reality that animals are (and offer) so much more than we have been willing to accept to date. And I love it!
It feels as though Jeff have been blessed with bliss, the thing that Joseph Campbell discussed with us, through this beautiful animal. How she bonded with Jeff was because she found a purity in his soul as he loved her broken body.
How fortunate they found each other. He helped heal her and now she is trying to heal him.
Let us all send healing energy to Jeff so that he may spend many more years sending his positive loving energy out to all.
I’ve heard many stories with horses and dogs similar to this one, but an eagle!? Who would have thought!
This story gave me hope on day and situation I thought was hopeless.
Thank you!
Even though I didn’t understand every word of the story it gave me a hint of a very special conection between man and eagle, i think this bond was meant to be when she stood on her feed – it was fate.
A beautifull story may she live long time.
WOW! If only we all could have an animal like that. But wait we all do, it’s your horse.
Thanks Carolyn – it made a difference in my day
Ditto what Kim said…too blurry with tears to write.
Especially the first picture brought tears to my eyes.
What a special and spiritual soul this eagle has… She had to suffer all her injuries to come into the human world and spread her healing powers all around her. Amazing!
Wow, what an honour to share such a bond. Beyond the physical.
Wow is all I can say….and bring me more tissue paper…..tears flooding floor below. OMG what a beautiful story. Those pictures say it all.
Thank you for posting this.
Kim
As i sit here commenting, I am in the pasture sitting with Mercury doing my ritual of reading your blog with him on my BlackBerry(yay technology!). He is trying really hard to stop me from typing! I have seen this story and it is extraordinary. For every ugly story, there is a beautiful one.
oh how touching is that!
wow