Purdy;

Ready for school;

“Purdy”
Marie-Louise saved a homing pigeon at school. It was still a baby, naked without down or feathers. They were going to close all the holes where the pigeons were nesting. All the holes were empty except one had still one nestling. The workers wanted to close it up with that baby in it. Marie-Louise asked the workers to hand her down the pigeon.

She brought the pigeon home and reared it and soon it grew into a beautiful glamorous Pigeon the scrawny bits of it gone and forgotten. That little pigeon was an extraordinary bird. It came flying from anywhere when she was called. Her name was Purdy. She accompanied Marie-Louise riding around the property flying close to her.
When the children were at school she followed me around and waited on the windowsill.
She followed the car when I was driving the girls to their bus stop. She was flying nearby at window height and I was worried a car could hit her. At the bus stop I would bundle her into the car where she perched on the backseat. Sometimes she would follow for a little while and then return home.

With time she would come further and further and I had to lock her up when I drove to Maclean or Grafton, as I was really afraid she could have an accident, as she used to fly right on the side of my car.

Then something terribly sad happened to little Purdy at home where she should have been save. Peter drove down from our gate to our house. When Purdy heard us arriving with the car she flew towards it and one had to be very careful because she would settle right in front of it.. This time she flew towards the car and settled just on the side of it and Peter did not see this. We cried out to him stop, stop, but he did not hear us, it was to late.
We were so very sad when we buried our Purdy.