The New Conspiracy Theorist: The worth of a bird

Last night (June 30th, 2010), around 8:30 p.m. I was out in the yard bringing our dog inside for the evening. I saw our outdoor cat over by what I call our 'pet cemetery'. The nice thing about living out in the country is that all my pets have a permanent resting place in a special area of my yard. All their graves are marked, and each one has a flowering plant that marks the place. It is a peaceful spot to sit and reflect. My first dog, who was very loyal and a great companion, even has a small statue on his grave and his favorite ball is attached to a small post. I know it may seem silly, but God gave us the responsibility of being good stewards over his creatures.
Genesis 1: 26 (the KJV uses the word dominion, but I understand that dominion also means to exercise control. However, I believe that God meant that Adam (whom he is speaking to at that point in the Bible) should exercise righteous control.) Proverbs 12:10 "the righteous man regardeth the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

A fledgling bird had fallen from the large tree that shades the area, and our cat was just watching it, not hurting it. I went over because at first I thought perhaps it was a garter snake. When I saw it was a bird, I had to carefully unwrap some weeds from around its poor neck. I gently picked it up and saw that it could not use its left wing. I took it to the bird bath and allowed it to drink. Then I placed it in a small box, cut holes in the box, put in some fresh dry grass, and gave it some bird seed hoping that until I could get in touch with an animal rehab person, I would be able to provide it shelter and a sense of peace and comfort. Around midnight it died. This morning I dug a grave, wrapped it in a cloth, and buried it. I said a prayer that its soul would be welcomed into heaven, as I know it will. Matthew 10:29 says that "one of them [sparrow] shall not fall on the ground without your Father." To me, that means that every soul of every creature God created does not perish without God's knowledge and that every creature He hath created is known to Him individually. It gave me some comfort because I had felt very badly last night when the bird passed. I cried at its loss of earthly life, but rejoiced that it is now free in Heaven.
Below are some photos I took of the bird when I first rescued it. No one was sure what kind of bird it was for sure, but it looked similar to a juvenile mourning dove. Sad, because I am sure its parents do mourn for its loss.