Tied to My Animals

I am totally and completely tied to my animals. I am madly in love with dogs - all dogs, any dogs. I believe it's because I've never been without one. A dog has been a member of our family since I can remember, and I have loved every single one. The first dog I ever remember having was a cocker spaniel named Clancey. He had very strawberry blond hair, and he LOVED to be with us kids. He would follow my brother all over town, whether my brother wanted him to or not. He would come happily trotting home on a Sunday morning after romping around the hills above our house with a mouth full of porcupine quills, and would sit perfectly still while my grandmother sat and patiently removed every one. As soon as she finished, he was ready to chase me around the house again, or do whatever I wanted to do.

Birds have not been a staple in my life, at least, not until about 2003. I'm guessing at that, because I don't quite remember what year I drug Elvis home. The lady that did my nails at the time had Elvis. She was completely terrified of him. She got him from another nail lady who couldn't keep him anymore. Tamberly had him in a room by himself, and it was clear that he hated every minute of it! You could hear him chirping at the top of his lungs...Whistling his heart out for attention. I'd really never had an affinity for birds, but I felt sorry for this one. It was clear he wanted to be part of the action! One day out of the blue, she asked me if I wanted to take him home with me. I immediately told her I did. My husband was incredulous, but being an animal lover himself, didn't say too much as I approached the car with a big cage, a stand, and all of Elvis' paraphanalia. We drove him home, made a place for him in the corner of our living room, and he became a part of the family.
He was the most talented little cockatiel I'd ever seen (not having seen too many). We taught him the wolf whistle in no time at all, and he never let me down. At a time in my life when I failed to garner a lot of wolf whistles, Elvis was there for me, first thing every morning. He always started my day off right. He also loved music. Rockin' Robin would send him to another planet!! He danced so hard, back and forth across that cage of his, the whole thing would rock! And for a deep bow, all you had to say was "Where's my pretty boy?"

I came home from work one night a few weeks ago to find poor little Elvis huddled up against the side of his cage. His feathers were ruffled and he was leaning his little head against the sides in an effort to hold himself up. Kelly and I could see he was not feeling well, but not having had birds before, we didn't really know what to do. We watched him as his breathing became more labored and he finally fell to the bottom of his cage. We lifted him out and held him until we were sure he'd made his way to birdie heaven, then Kelly went and found a box that he lined with papers. We carefully laid him in the box, along with his favorite bell. We both cried. Kelly took him up the river and found a place to bury him. It was one of the saddest nights of my life. I still very much feel the loss of that little pied cockatiel. I never realized how tied to the bird I'd become. Rest in peace, Elvis...I brought you home to provide you some company. I never realized how much company you'd provide me. I love you Elvis Pretzel!