Sarvey Wildlife Center

A Healing Murder
by Sandy Dahl

A Healing Murder Crows crows crows. There was a time then, and still to this day, of crows always being present in my daily life. Not just one or two flying overhead, but these little spiritual healers are constantly seeking my acknowledgement. Years ago before my adventures at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center, I didn't realize the reasons for sharing their world with us. I was a care free 20 year old, full of energy and a wee bit rowdy. One day I came whipping into the parking lot in my VW Bug where I lived, and there was a crow picking at something on the ground. Not intending to harm him, I swirved towards him a bit. He jumped out of the way to a tree and cawed angrily at me. I turned the corner and parked. He flew to the telephone line above my car and watched me go into my house. From then on, he remembered me. I couldn't get from the house to the car without getting cussed out. I was ashamed of myself for starting off a relationship like this and knew at that time these were cleaver little beings. I now made a point of swirving away from him and going really slow when I came home, but that didn't matter. Up to the tree he went and then over to my parking spot to caw profanities at me. This went on for the 2 years I lived there. Years later my job required me to work outside. There was a pair of resident crows. No way was I going to start this friendship off on the wrong foot. They would sit on 2 different telephone poles and watch me. I would look up and make eye contact, everytime our eyes met, their wings would do a little surprise jump. I figured the pair were mates. Then one day I was out in the front lot and I turned around and on the ground was one of them about 10 feet away from me just standing there looking at me. He walked a couple of feet towards me, it reminded me of a western showdown. I spoke kindly to him and he looked into my soul and me into his. We were, and still are friends, it's been over 10 years now. Every spring they bring their babies and introduce me to them. I see them up at the local grocery store and they know my car and follow me back to work. I whistle a special whistle and they arrive everyday to see what I am doing. They fly around and show off doing little joyful acrobatics in the air as if they're waving to me. They just want to hang out. At home, I have another group of crows that always know which room I'm in. Early in the morning they fly by my bedroom glass door and look in. They position themselves in the trees waiting for me to wake up. After I'm up, they watch me have my coffee at the next window sitting in the trees where they have a view of that room. If I go to the front of the house, there they are in the big maple tree looking in watching me in the front room. When I come home from work, they fly in and tell me hello. This group seems to be more of a family of 6 or so. Then came my most amazing encounter with the truth of crows being healers. The doctors told me I had stage 4 cancer, I had to have surgery. My hospital room looked over the Puget Sound with a wonderful view. When I woke up after the operation, there was a crow sitting on a telephone pole down a couple of streets. It was on a hill so he was at my window level. Our eyes met and he did the same little wing jump the others always do. Every day he was there watching me. There was a little 4 foot ledge outside my window and the day before I was to go home, I woke up and there he was, sitting right there outside my window as if to let me know he was watching out for me and sharing his healing powers. He just stared into my soul and sat there for awhile. I knew he was special and sent there just for me. I went home the next day, and to my surprise my 6 or so crows turned into a murder of crows. I tried to count them all and stopped counting at 30. They all stayed for a couple of months while I had my health problems and when I was strong again, then left. Only the original 6 crows are still here doing their usual daily spy routine. Crows have very hard beaks and they pinch and twist when they grab you. During the years at the wildlife center we house our crow friends when they come in orphaned or injured. For some reason, I can speak to them and calm them, I can handle them without prevoking a wicked pinch and twist from them, they are very intuitive and seem to know me. Always be kind to them. They will alert you to the current happenings around you and protect you from the things you cannot see in this world and beyond. Sandy Dahl