Animals in Spirit by Penelope Smith

Author:Penelope Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

WE CANNOT CONTROL DEATH

I learned a graphic lesson about the nature of death from several duck members of our family, and how we may be contributing agents, but we are not usually in control of another’s departure. I’ll relay the story in detail, because it illustrates many aspects of the cycle of life and death.

My first ducklings were two males named Maximilian and Marigold. As they grew, Marigold became aloof, and one day announced that he didn’t want to live here and was going away. I simply acknowledged him, as he did not wish to talk further about it. A week later, Marigold was killed by raccoons. Then I understood that he had decided to leave his body and dwell elsewhere.

Our female Afghan hound, Rana, was a wonderful guardian of the chickens, ducks, and other animals in the family. She kept predators away with great skill and consistency. Rana was embarrassed when I told her the raccoons had killed Marigold during the night. She could hardly believe it. I explained that Marigold had wanted to leave and it was his own choice, but Rana took her job seriously. The next night she stayed on guard near Maximilian and barked at the approach of any wild critter.

Maximilian and I became closer friends after Marigold’s death. However, when he tried to mate with me, I decided he needed a female duck companion! It was love at first sight when Marimba, an adult female duck, arrived. Not only did Maximilian vigorously mate with her, but he caressed and loved her with great devotion.

Maximilian defended Marimba from any other animal that approached. He particularly directed his attacks at Rana. He would lunge and bite at her, even when she was peacefully sleeping. I counseled him not to do this because Rana did not deserve to be attacked. Rana, in fact, was the defender of ducks. Maximilian did not listen. Rana tolerated his attacks and tried to avoid being around him rather than striking back. However, Rana was always startled by Maximilian, and we found later that she resented his blows.

One weekend, my former husband and I were out of town and had house-sitters taking care of things. When we returned at night, Maximilian did not call to us as usual and was nowhere to be found. I did not question everyone then, but I noticed that Rana was a bit quiet. The next morning, I found Maximilian’s body in the yard, his neck broken and torn. Rana must have had enough of Maximilian’s attacks and had struck back. We were all devastated. Maximilian had been special to all of us as the shining, personable communicator he was.

For several days, Marimba cried long honks of grief for Maximilian. Rana felt sick about what she had done and would not eat. We missed him terribly. When I contacted Maximilian, he was angry. He wanted to be back with Marimba and resented his life being cut short. It was December and not the time for baby ducks, so he could not reincarnate in the same species to be back with us right away.

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