Nero
New member
I'm a middle-aged male; now married with two kids, and I have a good home and remain very active. I've owned birds and various other animals for most of my life, and grew up on a farm. Still, I often was not a responsible pet owner in the past. I had a previous CAG that I shamefully admit that I often ignored and neglected. I ended up giving her up for adoption. That was years ago...
I got my current CAG about 3 years ago. I was single at the time and I was bummed because of recently failed relationship so I thought a new companion would pick me up. She wasn't even finished with weening when I picked her out. Actually, she picked me out: The pet store had about 5 greys and they brought them all out and placed them on a perch in front of me so that I could choose. When I put my hand up, a couple of the babies lunged at me and wanted to take my finger off, and a couple of them were indifferent to me. But when I put my hand in front of her, she immediately stepped up.
Over the next few weeks, she stayed at the store while fully weening. I made twice-weekly 150-mile trips in order to bond with her during that time. She remained in a large cage with the other greys while there. I noticed that the other new companion parrot 'owners' would need to read the pet store foot tags to find which CAG was theirs (greys are awesome birds but it's often hard to tell them apart). However, I never had to guess which of those greys was mine. Whenever I would open the cage, she would always come out on her own to get to me. She enjoyed my visits as much as I did.
When I finally got her home, I put her into a really large cage filled with awesome toys. Then I found her on the floor of her cage the next day pushing an acorn around. I jokingly asked her "What are you doing? Playing?" And without hesitation, she picked the acorn up, carried it toward me and stood at the cage bars. When I put out my hand, she dropped the acorn into my palm, through the bars. She stared up at me for a second or two as if to say "That's for you, and I love you."
Now, I'm a retired military veteran and I've jumped from planes, shot and blown things up, and broken almost as many bones as I own doing careless things like racing motorcycles and climbing mountains. but I must admit that event made me misty-eyed. That acorn was the most beautiful gift I'd ever received. I still have it.
That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
That was over three years ago. Today, she is still the most awesome of companions. I buy her far too many toys and love hanging out with her. She says funny things like "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas" and "Get Bent," she raps to Eminem songs and even tells me when she's about to drop a duty by screaming "Bombs away!" prior to doing it. She's a real ham. and she's the love of my life. I'm only half-joking too...
Don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends, but on the basis of pure enjoyment, my CAG wins hands down. She has no agenda other than enjoying time with me. She doesn't want me to drive her to the mall, help her to move to a new house or lend her $50. She just wants to spend time with me and that's it.
Honestly, how many people do most people have in their lives that truly just want to be with us like that? We're lucky if we have even one.
Sure, real human relationships are never easy but it's that uncomplicated relationship that I most desire at this point in my life. Maybe I'm jaded, or mellowing with age, or maybe I'm just less frenetic in my pace these days and notice things that blurred by me in the past. Whatever the case, my bird makes me very happy, but is it even healthy (for her or for me) to be really attached to her? As bird lovers, I'm sure you can relate to a degree. Maybe you can or maybe you can't. Anyway, do any of you have similar feelings for your companion birds?
Sorry for the long diatribe. - In a writing mood today.
I got my current CAG about 3 years ago. I was single at the time and I was bummed because of recently failed relationship so I thought a new companion would pick me up. She wasn't even finished with weening when I picked her out. Actually, she picked me out: The pet store had about 5 greys and they brought them all out and placed them on a perch in front of me so that I could choose. When I put my hand up, a couple of the babies lunged at me and wanted to take my finger off, and a couple of them were indifferent to me. But when I put my hand in front of her, she immediately stepped up.
Over the next few weeks, she stayed at the store while fully weening. I made twice-weekly 150-mile trips in order to bond with her during that time. She remained in a large cage with the other greys while there. I noticed that the other new companion parrot 'owners' would need to read the pet store foot tags to find which CAG was theirs (greys are awesome birds but it's often hard to tell them apart). However, I never had to guess which of those greys was mine. Whenever I would open the cage, she would always come out on her own to get to me. She enjoyed my visits as much as I did.
When I finally got her home, I put her into a really large cage filled with awesome toys. Then I found her on the floor of her cage the next day pushing an acorn around. I jokingly asked her "What are you doing? Playing?" And without hesitation, she picked the acorn up, carried it toward me and stood at the cage bars. When I put out my hand, she dropped the acorn into my palm, through the bars. She stared up at me for a second or two as if to say "That's for you, and I love you."
Now, I'm a retired military veteran and I've jumped from planes, shot and blown things up, and broken almost as many bones as I own doing careless things like racing motorcycles and climbing mountains. but I must admit that event made me misty-eyed. That acorn was the most beautiful gift I'd ever received. I still have it.
That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
That was over three years ago. Today, she is still the most awesome of companions. I buy her far too many toys and love hanging out with her. She says funny things like "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas" and "Get Bent," she raps to Eminem songs and even tells me when she's about to drop a duty by screaming "Bombs away!" prior to doing it. She's a real ham. and she's the love of my life. I'm only half-joking too...
Don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends, but on the basis of pure enjoyment, my CAG wins hands down. She has no agenda other than enjoying time with me. She doesn't want me to drive her to the mall, help her to move to a new house or lend her $50. She just wants to spend time with me and that's it.
Honestly, how many people do most people have in their lives that truly just want to be with us like that? We're lucky if we have even one.
Sure, real human relationships are never easy but it's that uncomplicated relationship that I most desire at this point in my life. Maybe I'm jaded, or mellowing with age, or maybe I'm just less frenetic in my pace these days and notice things that blurred by me in the past. Whatever the case, my bird makes me very happy, but is it even healthy (for her or for me) to be really attached to her? As bird lovers, I'm sure you can relate to a degree. Maybe you can or maybe you can't. Anyway, do any of you have similar feelings for your companion birds?
Sorry for the long diatribe. - In a writing mood today.
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