One day back in the summer of 2014, Susan Hickman was out walking when something caught her eye. There on the ground, she saw found a cracked eggshell.

Susan almost kept walking, but for some reason, she decided to stop and see if there was anything inside.

And to her surprise, there was!

When she looked inside, Susan found a newborn chick inside. He didn’t have any feathers and his eyes were closed.

Susan looked around to see if there was a nest nearby but couldn’t find one.

Susan knew that if she left the chick there, he wouldn’t survive alone, so she decided to try to save him.

Taking care of a baby bird isn’t easy, though. For the first two weeks, Susan had to feed the bird every 20-30 minutes from sunrise to sunset.

It was an exhaustive process, but Susan refused to give up. She felt a strong bond with the chick and used a small medicine dropper to make sure he got the nutrition he needed.

The bird was a real fighter, and managed to survive the first day…

… And the next day, too.

Susan soon named him Klinger.

He opened his eyes.

He got feathers…

… and eventually, he grew into a large, stately bird.

Talk about a transformation!

During his recovery, Klinger became an essential part of the family.

He got lots of love and care and in return, he brought joy into Susan’s life.

Being a true animal lover, Susan decided to release Klinger back into the wild when he was big enough.

But she also realized that Klinger was domesticated now. He was completely unprepared for life in the wild and wouldn’t survive on his own.

So Susan decided that Klinger simply had to stay with her.

And Klinger doesn’t seem to mind one bit.

Find out more about Susan and Klinger’s story in this video: