Update from Anacortes, WA

Gracie, my african grey parrot, seems to be adjusting nicely to her new home here in Anacortes. But when I first moved to here, Sid and I both had real concerns about Grace’s safety, because one of Sid’s two cats, Scamp, is a ruthless bird killer. (Yeah, the same cat that brought that cute, fuzzy, brown -dead- mole into the bathroom!)

We thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to introduce the two of them to each other in a very controlled setting. So Sid held Scamp securely in his arms and took him over to Grace’s cage so that they could see each other.
Grace looked closely at Scamp. Scamp focused intently on Grace. You could feel the tension. Scamp could tell this was no ordinary bird, and no ordinary pet. “Why does this bird seem different than the ones out in the yard? There IS something different about this bird, but what is it???”

At that moment,… the bird spoke. This bird spoke English, like the humans! And she said,…
“Are you hungry? Want some birdie?”

Oh, that was a cheap shot! As Sid laughed in amazement, Scamp leapt to the floor and sulked off, thinking “GREAT! Not only is there a damn bird living here now, but it's gotta be a smartass too!”

Yes, Gracie has adjusted nicely, and is doing better than she has in quite a while. She’s very happy here, she has grown feathers on her chest again, and…. her red tail has even grown back!

Grace has always been very confident regarding her position in the 'pecking order' of the world around her. That is to say,… it is her belief that she holds, and deservedly so, the position of ‘alpha’ pet. (She basically feels this way about human family members as well.)

I must admit, she has always had a remarkable ability to get large predators that could squash her like a grape, to give her a wide personal space and a tremendous amount of respect. (I’m not sure she deserves that last part!)

Over the years, Grace has lived with 8 different cats, and 6 different dogs, and all of them, regardless of their initial instinct, eventually seem to kowtow to her.

For instance, the other night, Sid and I were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. His australian shepherd, Bo, was laying at our feet chewing on one of his favorite treats, a rawhide chip. For reasons unknow, Gracie climbed down the leg of her cage, walked across the floor from the dining room to the living room, walked up to Bo, TOOK the rawhide chew from his mouth, and headed back to her cage with it!

Bo was a bit taken back at first, then he looked up at us as if to say, “Hey! Can she do that?”

We were both just cracking up laughing about it, so poor Bo knew he was gonna have to take matters into his own paws and go get it himself. So he got up and walked cautiously over to the bird, who was hi-tailing it across the floor with the loot. Bo politely took one side of the chew in his mouth, “I’m sorry birdie, but I believe that is mine,” and they both stubbornly stood there tugging on it for a few seconds. Grace finally let go and casually continued back to her cage thinking, “Ah, the nasty thing smelled like dog breath anyway…” 

Meanwhile, in the other room, Scamp is quietly plotting,..."Not to worry, Bo,... Someday..., that bird will be MINE!"  Wild fantasies "flutter" through his evil little feline mind....

"Red feather? I don't see no stinking red feather!"