When I first met Josh he didn't like birds. His experience with them was limited to parakeet budgies or similar types that were stuck in cages and were not exactly people friendly. Then he met my Du bird. She's a Quaker, or Monk, parrot. They hit it off right from the beginning and Josh immediately loved her. Well that was until the incident. You see he asked me, "Does she get on the ground?" I said she didn't. Well, she didn't! But she decided she just had to get on the ground to be with us. Josh and I were standing near her cage, kissing, and she snuck up behind him. Josh took a step backwards and stepped on her. It broke one of her feet. From then on out Josh was mortified and scared of her. Du could sense that fear and even though at first she kept trying to go to him, he kept pushing her away and she ended up resenting him.
Birds are smart. They are much smarter than any cat or dog you may keep as a pet. The best and worst part is they remember and they hold grudges. She grew even more bonded to me even though she had always preferred men (except for the ones who were either mean to her or scared of her) until she didn't want anything to do with Josh.
No matter what though, Josh always loved her even if he was afraid of hurting her. The most endearing thing was that Josh would read books to her during the day. His favorite was to read Dr. Seuss books. She absolutely loved it. He would also let her groom his hair and give each other "kisses". Du does this thing we call "french kisses" where she puts her head back and forth, from cheek to cheek, and makes kissing noises.
When we adopted Sweetie it was a great treat to have her in the house. Sweetie was a white and gray cockatiel. She loved Josh and only tolerated me. She would cuddle with Josh and Josh adored her. They made me so happy to see them together. Josh would read to the two of the birds together.
A year and a half ago I decided I wanted to adopt a blue & gold macaw that had been abused and neglected by her previous owner. Her name is Blu. She only loves me and boy did I have to put up with quite a few hard bites to get there. Josh made a big mistake when we first brought Blu into the house by yelling at her because she bit him. She drew blood on Josh and he charged and yelled at her. If you remember I said they hold grudges. She never forgave him. Plus she bonded to me and didn't want anything to do with him while I was there. When I was at work or away, Blu would play with Josh and they could live together peacefully, but when I was home she would charge him and bite him.
A very dark day happened last year when I was at work. Josh was in the shower and all of the birds were out of their cages. Sweetie flew off her cage and into the hallway. The problem is, the hallway is Blu's territory. She "guards" the bathroom door whenever anyone is in there. It didn't take long before Josh heard a scream from Sweetie. She didn't stand a chance against the big, bad Blu. :( It took a very long time for Josh to forgive Blu for that. I understand birds a lot better and get what happened even though it broke my heart.
I tried to get Josh to get another bird but he refused. He was so afraid of Blu hurting them. We only ended up taking in Madi, a Pionus, about 2 months ago because I insisted. She's the bird of some friends and she needed a place to stay. I keep all of the birds separated as much as possible. :)
The great thing is how much Josh loved them all. Even Blu. He finally forgave Blu once he watched a video on wild macaws and learned the psychology of them. He was so excited about the video he had me watch it too. It is a great video. He was so sweet with the little ones, especially. I absolutely loved how he read to them. I have the Dr. Seuss books in the bedroom and they make me smile. I am positive the birds have noticed his disappearance from our lives. He gave them company and love during the day. He gave good cuddles to Madi (and Sweetie before) at night. They all played together. I miss all of that and I'm sure they do too.
When I go to bed at night I want to remember my loved ones who are gone. Not a day goes by that I don't say good night to them. Now it goes as follows, "Good night mom. Good night grandma. Good night grandpa. Good night Sweetie. I love you all.... Good night Josh. I love you so much."
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