Ticturd

I got my first cockatiel years ago, when I still worked at Wal-Mart.

I was eating lunch at the snack bar with the guy who managed the pet department when he said, "Oh no! Not again!" A lady he recognized had come in and headed to the service desk. She was returning a bird that she had only had a few days.

Curious, I followed him to the pet department and heard the story that started my love affair with cockatiels. This little bird was bought three different times in as many weeks and returned- each and every time. They said he was mean. One lady popped him against the wall when he bit her. Can you imagine doing that to a little animal that didn't even weigh a pound? I was indignant.

As fate would have it, I had just gotten my Christmas bonus that very day- all of $50. Guess what I spent it on? You guessed it. A bird cage, supplies and one unloved/misunderstood cockatiel. I knew my parents would have a fit over me bringing it home, so I concocted a story. I told my family that I was keeping it for a few weeks for a friend, as she bought it for her sister's Christmas present. I later confessed- once I knew the rest of the family loved him too.

Well, Ticturd (as he later came to be named) stayed in the kitchen for several days. He silently circled the cage by the hour- around and around and around. Noone in the family bothered him- we all agreed he needed his space- and I was the only one who dared open the cage door to give him food/water. Mom bought a book about cockatiels, though, as she has a soft spot for animals too.

Finally, after about a week? He started making a strange noise. We all gathered around, worried that something was wrong with him, as he had never even whistled. He just constantly circled and circled the cage. After a few minutes, I realized that he was singing! What beautiful songs this bird sang!

Anyway- it took me a year to teach the little guy not to bite. He never got over his fear of women, including me. He learned that I would not hurt him, but he never fully overcame the trauma of his life before me. He LOVED my father, though. He would let Dad handle him without fear. Obviously it was women who had traumatized him.

He love listening to basketball games. I would play them on the tv/radio for him. He liked country music, too. He had a happy life with me for several years.

Sadly, I lost Ticturd the day I took him to the vet (NOT Dr. Ledbury or anyone at Hillcrest) for a beak trim. The doctor killed him- he had a heart attack because she wouldn't stop when I told her to. I knew she was scaring him and told her to stop for a minute so we could let him calm down.

His body is buried in my backyard, in a silk lined box with his favorite toys. But his spirit soars through Heaven where nothing can ever scare him again. And he sings with the angels!