I woke up one morning to see a stack of gifts at the foot of my bed; one of which was a pet owl.
At first, the owl looked half-dead and I wondered how well whomever had bought it for me had been taking care of it and I quickly noticed that I hadn't been provided with any tools or instructions for taking care of the owl and I had no idea how to take care of one.
I wasn't even sure how I felt about feeding my owl live mice and wondered if dead mice would be acceptable - or what any acceptable alternatives would be? I wondered how I would train it not to fly away; I'd seen people use leashes to train falcons but would they work on owls?
I needed a trip to the pet store, and fast, but no-one would help take me there. I was completely on my own.
As I don't yet drive, I mapped out the route in my head, and with only a vague idea of where I was going, grabbed an old gardening glove so that I could carry the owl on my hand, and started walking.
In reality I could have just taken the bus but for some reason, I walked. Along the way, I felt completely helpless, isolated and alone. I couldn't believe that someone thought it would be a good idea to give me a pet owl, but no guidance on how to take care of it - and not only that, no-one was willing to help me help myself learn.
