Blossom, Random Acts of Kindness and Lessons Learned

Last night I was in the living room writing on my lap top and I heard Gandalf say,

“I have found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… simple acts of kindness and love” (Gandalf)

Just to be clear, I don’t have voices in my head (if  I did I imagine they’d sound more like Dory than Gandalf), nor did I have Sir Ian McKellen sat in my living room, although that would have been amazing and it would definitely make a much better blog! ‘The Hobbit’ was on television and that quote caught my attention.

I honestly believe it’s the small things in life that are the most important. Grand gestures are nice, but it’s the simple random acts of kindness that can make the greatest difference…..

Blossom was a beautiful tatty girl who came from a BHWT rehoming day in Lancs, the same one that Rosie came from. I’d gone to pick up three hens and managed to come home with five! I mentioned these girls before in my last blog about Rosie, they were the ones who were given temporary names based on how they looked.

When she arrived Blossom looked a bit odd; she was quite a tatty hen with a completely bald face and downy white feathers on the tops of her wings.  I was telling a hen friend at work about the new additions because I needed ideas for names, after all, it didn’t seem fair to refer to a hen as ‘bald face angel wings’ for the rest of her life! My friend suggested Blossom because she would Blossom, and the name stuck.

Blossom took a while to settle in and was a bit of a bully at first. If there were ASBO’s for hens I’m pretty sure she would have been given one. The other girls would be minding their own business and Blossom would run at them and peck them repeatedly and aggressively. Quite often she’d jump on their backs pinning them down and peck and pull at their combs until I lifted her off. Blossom was really hard work and her behaviour took a long time to improve. There was one point when I’d tried everything that I began to wonder whether she’d ever settle into the flock. It took a long while and a lot of patience, but with distractions, intervention and handling, over time Blossom turned into a lovely little hen.

I hadn’t had lots of hen keeping experience at this stage and if the hens seemed unwell or I wanted to check symptoms I’d do some research on the internet. There was a local vets I used and I’d been lucky enough to see one of the vets who was also a hen owner. Unfortunately this vet only worked a few days a week and eventually was there less and less. There were other vets there and they were nice enough but they didn’t have the experience of owning or treating hens.

Blossom had been a bit under the weather and it became apparent even to me that she had a problem with digestion and her crop. I took her to the vets and they tried to treat what they thought was an infection in her crop. A few days later and things had worsened – Blossom’s crop felt solid and swollen, her breath smelled awful and she had pungent smelling liquid coming from her beak. Hens don’t have the ability to vomit so I knew that the situation wasn’t good. I went back to the vets and sat waiting to go in. I’m not going to name the vets I used (for reasons that will be clear if I write more about them in the future) but the waiting area is at the rear of a pet store.

The receptionists saw Blossom as a hen, nothing more. They’d made it clear they didn’t understand why I rescued hens or that Blossom was a pet. I know from experience that at a vets where they deal with all kinds of animals, people always ask, “What’s in the pet carrier?” and have already decided as they peer in that it’s going to be a cat or a rabbit. When I reply, “It’s a hen”, with an incredulous look on their faces they reply, ‘A hen?’. At this point most people have quickly decided that I’m obviously a bit mad and they mumble as they look away and go back to stroking their dog or talk to whatever ‘normal’ pet they’ve got in their pet carrier.

As I sat waiting with Blossom I saw a lady approaching the seats near me and I thought great, I knew today probably wasn’t going to end well and I really wasn’t in the mood to replay the above conversation. The lady was quite tall and large looking but that could have been the giant woollen type shawl she was draped in. She was wearing a woolly hat and I decided in seconds that she was clearly eccentric, probably a ‘mad cat lady’ and exactly the kind of person I didn’t want sat next to me today of all days. I groaned inwardly and maybe even outwardly as she sat down facing me and immediately asked what was in my pet carrier. “It’s a hen”, I said, “She’s very poorly and probably going to die” – a conversation killing statement if ever there was one. Eccentric lady said softly, “My son used to have hens, they’d lay in front of the fire with him and keep warm. They’re wonderful creatures.”

Before I had chance to raise my head and reply, Blossom and I were called through for our appointment. The vet examined Blossom and said there was nothing more they could do for her. I asked whether they could operate to remove the blockage or empty the crop and the reply was simply, “no”. In tears, I signed the consent form and Blossom was taken away from me and put to sleep. I walked out of the consulting room, pet carrier empty, fighting a losing battle against the floods of tears, past ‘eccentric cat lady’ and to the end of an aisle where I stood waiting for them to bring me Blossom’s green leg ring. People stared at me, the woman stood on her own in a pet shop sobbing openly and uncontrollably, but then looked away quickly as they caught my eye.

Someone walked over to me, it was ‘eccentric cat lady’, she said, “I’m going to give you a hug now” and she gathered me into her arms and her large woollen shawl and held me while I cried. She said how sorry she was and when I sobbed, “But she only had a year”, she replied, “But you gave her a wonderful life”. I don’t remember her letting me go or where she went, I just remember being totally taken aback by the random act of kindness shown to me by a complete stranger.

A few minutes later I left the store with Blossom’s leg ring and drove home. In tears again, I broke the news to Ben about Blossom and told him about the amazing lady who had given me a hug, his eyes filled up. I don’t know who the lady was, I don’t know why she was at the vets or even what pet she had, and I don’t know how the day ended for her.

It may have been a small thing, a minute of time if that, but it was a simple act of kindness, compassion and caring that made an immeasurable difference to me that day and one I’ll never forget. This happened on 20th November 2014 and even writing now, over 2 years later, it makes me feel emotional and overwhelming grateful to that lady.

That day was a day of a lessons learned, I judged someone and made snap decisions about them because of how I saw them and how I felt. I saw a few things in a few seconds and categorized and dismissed this person, an amazingly kind lady, in an awful way.

As well as remembering what I learnt that day, I also remember the guilt I felt about Blossom and the guilt I live with now. With my increased experience, I believe something could have been done to save Blossom. I did ask the questions at the time about whether she could be operated on to remove any blockage from her crop but was told that this wasn’t an option. Having limited knowledge, I naturally deferred to the opinion of an experienced vet. I know there’s nothing I can do now but I feel I should have done more and that I let Blossom down. The only thing that I can take a small amount of comfort from is that she had a year of freedom, she was loved, she didn’t suffer and that she has someone who still thinks about her and still misses her.

I started this post with a quote so it’s only right that I end it with one which is simple but true,

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)

Sam x