I was locking up, leaving for dinner when I heard a commotion somewhere from among the treetops in the carpark.
I looked up and saw a huge flock of our resident crows circling and squawking.
Then a cat jumped down from one of the branches with a light coloured piece of material in its mouth.
A family walking passed stopped and stared at the cat as it dashed under a parked taxi.
I hurried over and asked the family if they identified the thing that was in the cat's mouth, and they said they think that it was a pigeon but they sounded uncertain.
I continued towards the hiding cat, knowing in my heart that we don't have light coloured resident pigeons here.
I hissed at the cat and looked under the taxi as the cat ran away.
My heart stopped.
I grabbed the body of the cockatiel.
I ran towards the clinic and absentmindedly repeated to the staring family:
"I am the vet here... I am the vet .. my clinic is over there."
As I brought the body into the clinic, I felt I could not breath.
I searched for a heartbeat from the cockatiel .. nothing.
A deep canine puncture in the back.
All gone in less than a minute.
Only silence.
Watch over your parrots carefully. Please.