I find it absolutely amazing that if this bird were to have stayed in the company of cockfighters, he would have been labeled as a winner, as a dangerous fighter. Not by his own choice, but because he was forced to fight -- because of the situation his owners would put him in.
But put him in caring, loving hands, and he was fantastic with calm and gentle people and developed lasting relationships with the people who grew to know and love him. No-one would have known what joy and
happiness he could have brought into the lives of the nursing home residents if he were never given the chance.
We will all certainly miss Chesney. His life-lesson to us shows us that anyone can definitely overcome their past, and leave a positive influence on the world in which we live. Here's a thought -- consider the animals in the world around you and ask yourself if they are a product of their environment, an environment that we as humans created? What lives could they influence and what lessons could they teach if only given the chance? Think of the animals such as those on factory farms -- chickens in battery cages, pigs in gestation crates, geese being force-fed with tubes on foi gras farms, small baby calves used for veal and chained to small calf hutches, and so on.
As for Chesney, he is somewhere now busy chasing bugs, scratching about in warm, loose dirt with toes that no longer hurt, and taking long dirt baths in some soft rays of sunshine. This incredible, gentle creature deserves all this and more. Perhaps he'll even make friends with those he was forced to fight, in a world where there is nothing but a complete and blissful feeling of peace and love for each other.
On behalf of Chesney and all the chickens who suffer daily in the hands of cockfighting proponents, please report suspected animal fighting to your local authorities. Having to fight for your life at the expense of another's death is certainly no way to force any animal to live. What have we become when we turn a blind eye to the actions of those in our communities who endorse such behavior?
Thanks, Chesney, for showing us that what is often reflected on the surface is not really what's down deep in one's soul. The mask of being an aggressive, cockfighting rooster was simply a forced persona for this sweet, gentle creature.
Make your toes no longer hurt, may your beak no longer be cracked or broken, may your spirit heal and soar, may you be able to perch as high as you'd like with no restrictions, may you have someone to gently hold you while you take a well deserved nap -- that, Chesney, is our wish for you!
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