Bird Dilemma

A few weeks ago we had an awkward situation arise. We have several parrots outside in a large cage and one became obviously sick. So as to not infect the other birds and because some students we afraid of Bird Flu, we took him to the Vet.
The veterinarian was not sure what ailment the bird had but felt he had only a slim chance to recover. The decision was made by the American owner to have the bird “put to sleep” and that is where it got interesting. The Vet would not advise the owner to do this. A young man who drove the owner to the Vet was showing significant stress over the incident and advised slow decision making. It finally came to the owner what the problem was. Both of the men present were Buddhist. They believe in reincarnation and felt that the bird might be someone important! I do not understand why they easily take the lives of chickens and other animals to eat but balk at other times. Perhaps I will never fully understand.When the owner took full responsibility for the decision, the bird was slowly put to sleep with an injection. The vet “crossed” the bird before the final act and wished it a good new life! This belief is deeply engrained in the people and of course, is totally contrary to Christian principles of salvation. This is a hard one to teach for these people.