“Thanks, Billy the baby blue penguin” 💙
Published on Dec 3, 2018 at 6:22 PM
This little blue penguin, found alone on a beach in New Zealand, wasn’t able to communicate directly with folks passing by to ask that they respect his space — so a few kind people stepped up and posted that important message on his behalf.
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Jeff Mein Smith tells Stuff.co.nz that he’d first noticed the tiny flightless bird standing in the sand while passing by a stretch of coast on his bike in Christchurch. Evidently, he was not the only one. A crowd had gathered around, and apparently some of the people weren’t doing a good job restraining their dogs.
Upon returning to the spot later on, Smith discovered that a couple had planted a cardboard placard next to the penguin to deter people from getting too close, or letting their pets bother him.
The sign read: “Hi, I’m waiting for my mum to come back. [New Zealand’s Department of Conservation] knows I’m here. Please leave me alone. *Keep your dog away. Thanks, Billy the baby blue penguin.”
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Conveniently, the penguin remained close by, making it clear that the sign spoke for him.
(It was pretty darn cute.)
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Although Billy the penguin may have indeed been waiting for his mother to return, wildlife officials determined that, at around 2 months of age, he was likely too old to still be a dependent. So, the next day, they stepped in to offer the little bird a helping hand.
Turns out, he (or possibly she) did need it.
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Billy was found to weigh just 550 grams — 350 grams short of what is considered a healthy weight. But the bird’s new caretakers at Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation are now providing plenty of food to turn things around.
With any luck, in the next few weeks, Billy will be big and strong enough to be released back into the wild.
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Little blue penguins, the smallest penguins on Earth, are a protected species in New Zealand. The Department of Conservation urges residents to keep the birds safe by maintaining their distance and not allowing their pets to bother them — which makes the sign Billy received all the more fitting.
And though it might not be spelled out, Billy is thankful for that kind gesture, no doubt.
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Shelter Cat Holds Hands With Grieving Visitor — And Secures A Forever Home
“[It’s] like he knew what I needed, and his whole mission was to make me feel better.”
By Ashley Ortiz
It only took minutes after discovering a tiny kitten glued to the ground near Salem, Oregon, in 2018 for Chuck Hawley to know he’d made a new forever friend. After freeing the kitten from the concrete and searching for his family members — human and feline alike — with no such luck, Hawley scooped him up and brought him home.
Hawley and the kitten, whom he named Sticky, clicked instantly. Sticky was far from Hawley’s first pet, but the two quickly forged a bond unlike any other. One of their favorite activities was driving to their local coffee shop, Dutch Bros, and talking about life.
Although Sticky didn’t have the words to respond, he always found a way to convey his messages to Hawley.
“I really did get a lot of answers to some important life-type questions from that guy,” Hawley told The Dodo. “Sticky was no normal cat. [He was] pure magic.”
In their six years together, Sticky and Hawley celebrated many accomplishments by each other’s side. Sticky’s story inspired Hawley to write a children’s book, “A Sticky Situation,” which garnered the attention of animal lovers worldwide.
And the loyal cat stayed close by while Hawley added more books to the series, including one about grief titled “We Don’t Say Goodbye.”
Sadly, at the end of 2024, Sticky’s health took a turn for the worse. Hawley had to make the gut-wrenching decision to put Sticky to sleep, and on the day of the appointment, he received another sign from his departing companion.
“My wife and I walked into the room where they do it, and she immediately pointed at the bookshelf. ‘We Don’t Say Goodbye’ was at the top of the pile,” Hawley said. “It was like he was telling me he would see me later and not to forget what we had done and to keep going.”
With their book in one hand and Sticky’s paw in the other, Hawley tearfully bid farewell to his very best friend. He had no idea that another sign from Sticky was waiting just around the corner.
A few days after losing Sticky, Hawley unexpectedly drove past the Oregon Humane Society and decided to check out the kittens inside. He wasn’t looking to adopt anyone, as he was still riddled with grief, but he figured hanging out with fluffy babies would make him feel better.
When he went inside, a staff member shared that all the kittens had been adopted that morning, but Hawley was still welcome to check out the remaining cats in the back. Hawley initially decided against it, but as he turned to leave, he suddenly changed his mind.
“[I] had gotten all the way to the front door before deciding to go back and take a look,” Hawley said.
In the back, Hawley found a row of metal cages covered with blue tarps and a glass cage with a Sticky-like kitten at the end. Hawley admired the kitten from afar, wished him a good life, then decided to leave. But as he walked past the tarp-covered cages towards the door, the grieving cat dad suddenly felt something on his shoulder.
“I turned to leave, and this paw reached out and tapped my arm. I took my phone out to take a photo of this paw sticking out of the cage, and while I was doing that, he just left it dangling,” Hawley said. “He just left it there. Like he knew what I needed, and his whole mission was to make me feel better.”
Hawley pulled back the tarp and was shocked to find a vision of Sticky on the other side. This cat, Allen, had his own unique look, but something about him when he turned to the side resembled Sticky. At that moment, Hawley decided he couldn’t leave without him.
“I just knew right then that he needed to come home with me,” Hawley said.
Hawley left the humane society that day with Allen wrapped in his arms and a new spark of hope in his heart. Allen could never replace Sticky, but his presence was already healing an impossible wound.
“[H]e has been the absolute best medicine I could have ever asked for,” Hawley said. “Getting to know him has been the distraction that I need to heal. And on the days I just can’t escape that grief, he will just snuggle up next to me and wait for the sad to go away.”
Allen adjusted to the Hawleys’ home swimmingly, as if he’d always lived there. He even knew all of Sticky’s favorite spots to relax, including the less-obvious ones. To Hawley, it was as if “he was told about them by the guy who used them last.”
There’s no doubt that, even after his passing, Sticky is still sending Hawley messages. Battling through the grief of losing him has been no easy feat, but with Allen now in his life, Hawley feels assured that Sticky’s still looking out for him from the other side.
“I can’t imagine where I’d be at this point if Sticky hadn’t sent Allen to find me,” Hawley said.
To help pets like Allen get the care they need, you can donate to the Oregon Humane Society here.
You can check out Hawley and Sticky’s children’s book series here.
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“To know her was to love her” ❤️
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