Barney and Cheryl
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

By Cheryl Lamberton - 1 Oct 2003

Cheryl wrote this article in response to a discussion submittal by Anne-Marie Thompson, which can be read at: http://www.all-creatures.org/discuss/horse-amt.html

Please don't feel sooooooo bad about your parrot. I would be lost without mine. He is the light of love in my home. He has even managed to charm my husband who hated him at first. That is good because I would have been sad to let my new hubby go.

Barney was left to me by my son who couldn't take the cockatiel that he had since the age of 9 years when he moved to college.

The relationship I have with Barney is very special. He has helped me through Cancer and through many long days after I became disabled a few years later. He is a very smart bird and just about has us well trained. He is a big talker, can count, and even knows now when my hubby comes home before the garage door opens. He tries to answer the phone by knocking it off the cradle to ask "who is it ?" He receives a lot of love and hugs and kisses all day long. And if I do go away he gets to go to Parrot Camp to visit all his Parrot friends. At camp they teach them a thing or to "like how to wave his Claw hello for a small bit of saltless cracker. Around 6-oclock everyday he insists on taking a bath immediately after having his cage cleaned, and no excuses. Barney has to know every thing that we have on our plate at every meal, and if it is something that is considered an ok food, he is always up for the opportunity of a no thank-you bite. Well just in case he is not in the mood for corn or cucumbers that day, maybe he prefers a piece of that fresh tomato instead today, but still insists on trying it all first.

He loves to play all day long but has a special call if the house is too quiet to see if I am home. If I return his searching call with an endearing response he will go back to playing or yell at me to "COMERE!" until I relent and drop what I am doing to play a bit. Or, sometimes I rearrange his cage so he can put everything back the way he had it before. Or to see if he needs new water. We have a wonderful loving life together. We respect one another boundaries.  Sometimes he doesn't want to come out but lets me know by standing fast to his perch. So maybe he just doesn't want to come out, but if he sees me chopping fresh veggies or fruits he just about breaks his neck to have a flavor flash.


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