FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – A Fort Lauderdale neighborhood is heartbroken after a beautiful bird that roamed the area didn\u2019t survive a vicious attack.<\/p>\n
Maria Guerrero told 7News the peacock, which was affectionately named Prosciutto, would always find his way back around her home along Southwest Sixth Court.<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s normally nervous around birds, especially peacocks. But Prosciutto found a way to change her mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am terrified of birds, large birds, so it was not a wanted relationship but he was very friendly and persistent,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
From sleeping in a tree in her backyard to looking for food every afternoon at precisely 5 p.m., he became a consistent part of her home life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t come out here without him following me around. He would dance for me and show me his feathers,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
A cellphone video Guerrero took of the lovely pheasant showed him spreading those feathers in a majestic display one afternoon.<\/p>\n
At some point in June, Guerrero stopped hearing Prosciutto knocking on her window for several days.<\/p>\n
After a concerningly long absence, he finally returned in desperate need of help.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe showed up about two weeks ago emaciated, injured,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
Guerrero rushed the peacock to a veterinary\u2019s office, where x-rays found the bird had been shot by an airsoft gun.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a BB [pellet] embedded in his neck and another air gun pellet in his thigh, and they had fused in his muscle,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
She said Prosciutto\u2019s injuries weren\u2019t limited to just being shot at. He also appeared to have been physically attacked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a massive infection from severe trauma to the head and the neck, and it was because somebody attacked him and beat him up,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
The severity of his injuries even left the bird blind in his right eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t see the food in front of him; that\u2019s why he was starving,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
Guerrero did everything she could to try to help the beaten bird but his health declined drastically on Sunday.<\/p>\n
She attempted to rush him back to an animal hospital but he died on the emergency trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was horrifying. To fight so hard to save him, but also to know that this happened,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
She said there\u2019s no excuse for anybody to have carried out this cruel act on a defenseless creature.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that peacocks are loud but to hurt one like that is just abhorrent,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n
Guerrero hopes that by sharing this story more people would develop more empathy toward peacocks.<\/p>\n