Conana's new "Digs" . . . .

In December 1991, two weeks before Christmas, George was installing carpet on a patio in Gilbert. It was very cold and windy, and raining. Out of the rain walked a little Indian Ring Neck Parrot. She was cold, wet and hungry. She walked up to George and waited for him to pick her up. If she had been enjoying her freedom, doing whatever birds do when they are flying free, she was no longer having fun. She was scared and miserable. He called to the woman he was working for and asked her if she had lost a parrot. She told him no and when he asked her if she wanted one, she again answered, "no".

George put her in a box he had in his van and gave her several Ritz
Crackers. The woman's teenage daughter and two friends canvassed
the neighborhood asking people if they had lost their bird. When no
one had claimed her, George brought her home. I put an ad in the
newspaper and still on one claimed her.

We bought a cage and I took her to a vet. I wanted to make sure she
was not sick from her adventure in the wet winter weather. Due to
the color of the ring around her neck, I was quite sure she was a
female, but I wanted to know for sure. Also, I was wondering how old
she was. The vet said she was healthy, but underweight. He said she
was a female and that she was mature. He estimated her age to be 3
or 4. We had learned a few things about parrots and the trouble they
can get in, and so we named her Conana, after Conan the Destroyer.

This little parrot adored George from the first time she saw him. She
had found him and he had rescued her. She always wanted him to
hold her, pet her, and scratch her back. She cooed at him, talked to
him, and performed for him. The way she kissed up to him was
hilarious. She barely tolerated me. She was jealous of me and would
try to bite me whenever she had the chance. She screamed at me
and rolled her eyes until they were yellow. But since I fed her,
cleaned her cage, gave her treats and a tub to bathe in, she put up
with me. She knew the minute George's van pulled into the driveway
and the garage door opened, and she was so happy. Her favorite time
of the day was in the evening when George laid on the floor to watch
TV. She ran around the room, climbed all over him, and would
stretch way up with wings spread, to mimic an eagle. Whenever
George says, "be an eagle", she does it.

Conana has lived with us for almost 20 years. She has been a fun
addition to our family. She likes most men and doesn't care
much for women. She loves to eat. She loves "people" food.
She knows when we are eating and will run around her cage,
stopping to ring her bell on each circle, until I take her some of
whatever we are eating. Her favorite food is corn on the cob, She
loves potatoes, fixed any way, bread and pizza. She loves chicken
(a bit of a cannibal, perhaps.) She loves most fresh fruit and
vegetables. She loves sunflower seeds. Her favorite nut is peanuts,
but she will not shell them. I do it for her, and still the ungrateful
little character will bite "the hand that feeds her". I learned that it
is actually healthy to feed a parrot people food along with the
commercial mix as long as you watch the salt and the sugar.

Her life of freedom came to an end on Wednesday, April 13, 2005
when George flew to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to get Muggles, our
beautiful little red Norfolk Terrier. Being a terrier and bred as a
vermin hunter, we can not trust Muggles to not hurt her. Now, I
know a bird is not vermin, but I was not sure Muggles knows it.

For the last six years, I have worried about Conana and her loss
of freedom. Was she happy still, I wasn't sure. When I became so
ill this year, one of the things I was diagnosed with was environ-
mental emphysema. In an effort to protect my lungs, we needed to
move Conana to the patio as bird droppings, particularly parrot
and pigeon, can aggravate lung problems. George had recently
decided to move his leather work to the patio. Not wanting to
cut out light or the view, he used clear panels to enclose it. It is
light, airy, and very attractive. He purchased a portable air
conditionig unit that is very effective.

This was the perfect time to get Conana a larger cage with a play
area on top. We knew that birds love to be up high so they can
view their terrain. Did we go overboard with the size of her cage?
Most likely we did, but she loves it. She is a happy little bird. So
happy, she will sometimes let me scratch her back and pet her
without biting me.

How did Muggles handle this? It has been hilarious. She has driven
us to distraction at times. For the first two months, she spent every
waking moment sitting at the sliding glass doors staring at
Conana. The first thing she does in the morning, is run to check her
out. She eats and runs right back. She would lay there all night if
we didn't take her in our bedroom and shut the door. We say the
word bird, or Conana, and she takes up her stance. I am sure she
is living with a stiff neck from looking up all of these weeks.

Conana is not afraid of her, and I am no longer sure Muggles would
delibertely try to hurt her, but we can't take the chance, so if
Conana is playing on top, Muggles can not go out. Conana will run
around the bottom of her cage and she and Muggles will go nose to
nose through the bars. So far, Conana has not bitten her nose, maybe
she doesn't want to.

Every day when I see Conana enjoying her new "digs" and being so happy, I am grateful that we have given this sassy little parrot with the enchanting personality, a new and refreshing look at the beauty of the outdoors and a new environment to enjoy the rest of her life. We love her. Thank you Conana for 20 years of fun.