RIP Yellow Legs Garcia: Beloved Sister, Entertainer, Friend
APRIL 21, 2016 Yellow Legs “Cuddles” Garcia was laid to rest today in a shady enclave in the back yard that she called home for the past three years. Yellow Legs passed shortly after being admitted to a veterinary clinic for weight loss and an indeterminate abdominal issue. After being diagnosed with what could have been any number of reproductive ailments, the prognoses for which were universally dire, the difficult decision for euthanasia was made. Yellow Legs died peacefully in the company of a compassionate vet and her assistant, with her head resting in her caretaker’s hands. She is survived by her sister, White Legs “Jumpy” Garcia, and her blind coop-mate, Rufina, for whom she had recently developed an almost affectionate tolerance.
Yellow Legs was born in 2013 in an anonymous hatchery along with thousands of other chicks. Hours after hatching, she was placed on a conveyor belt where she was sorted according to size, sex, and stamina, treated with antibiotics, and dispatched within 48 hours via Fed Ex to a local Albuquerque feed store. From there, she was adopted into the Bruzzese family where she remained until her death.
Although Yellow Legs never knew her parents, she nonetheless matured into a well-adjusted, if sickly, backyard hen. In her youth, she was known for steady egg laying, adventurousness, and an insatiable curiosity that inspired her to traverse all manner of fencing so that she might dig through garden beds, often destroying the drip system in the process. This trait, coupled with her progressively delicate constitution requiring three expensive veterinary consults during her short life, caused her caretaker to lay her own sanity open to question on more than one occasion.
Yellow Legs’ favorite leisure activities included sunning herself in forbidden areas of the yard; dirt bathing; and hiding her head under pieces of cloth. Her professional career began with a film debut in 2014’s The Contest, a performance central to the production and one that delighted “winner” and “loser” readers alike.
Yellow Legs enjoyed almost everything in life. Her presence will be missed and her death honored as that of one lucky hen among thousands whose brief and miserable lives will end today in slaughter houses, without ceremony, care, or compassion, never having had the chance to live as chickens or even touch their feet to the ground. Rest in peace, Cuddly.
Live Clay 
A toast to Yellow Legs. I hope she can fly like Jonathan Livingston Seagull in Chicken Heaven.
L, you can let Rufina know her photo is now mounted in beautiful, thick, distressed wood frame and on the wall. She looks wonderful!
RIP, yellow legs, hope you’re having fun beyond the rainbow bridge ♥
Thank you Dionete. I like to believe that all the creatures who have been my companions & teachers over the years are still with me, somehow.
“And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.”
♥ ♥ ♥
Beautiful. Thank you.
Aw, thank you John. I should send you some toasting tumblers… a new project I’m working on 😉
Thank you also for honoring the photo of Rufina the way you have. Makes me so happy to know that her life & legacy continue in the hearts of other caring people. Stories really can affect change, which is perhaps one of the reasons people like you and me are drawn to the blogosphere. xox
RIP Yellow Legs Garcia.
You and Rufina and Jumpy Legs have given us all a deeper appreciation of the chicken psyche. Your short life touched us all.
No more Southern Fried Chicken for this grandmother. Thank you, Yellow Legs, ie. Cuddly Garcia, Pray for me as I address my next obstacle: Vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Oh, I know that’s a big step for you, Donna Bruzzese. You might have to go 1/2 and 1/2 for a while? Either way, thanks for your comment and participating in the (ongoing) chicken story.
So sorry to hear of Yellow Legs’ passing – her life enriched ours, and your care enriched hers. She was one lucky duck (er, hen)!
Thanks, Maggi. I didn’t realize that the last time I blogged, many months ago, it was about her. Since she had recovered from that, I really didn’t expect her to be making an appearance here again so soon 😦
How did I miss this?! What a heartfelt tribute to one of God’s more fortunate pea-brained creatures.