I became a bird owner quite by accident. The amazing thing is that I never realized how incredible these animals are! Do you know what is it like to roll over in the morning only to notice that your little cockatiel is snuggled right next to you? The minute he sees my eyes open I get greeted with the sweetest “HI” you’ve ever heard, and I swear that he’s smiling at me. When I came home after work I would see him in the window calling to me (yes, he knew my car) and when I got through the door he’d coming running to greet me with a big “HI” and then proceed to talk my ear off. My JR has since passed away in a very cruel fashion and it still hurts to this day to recall those moments, nearly 9 years ago. He introduced me to the amazing world of birds and showed me just how awesome God was in creating these perfect animals.

They are highly intellegent and very affectionate and I honestly don’t know what my life was before them. I thought was a dog and cat lover to the core, had no understanding at all about the amazing world of birds and now I can’t imagine my life without them. I had grown up with cats and dogs, all of whom we adopted (or they adopted us) and I find them to be very special too. I only wish more people could understand that birds are here for us too, just like our beloved dogs and cats. The one thing that is truely amazing is that for such little guys (or not so little in some cases) they live pretty long lives. My cockatiels will have an average life span of 20 years and my African Grey will be about 70! What is really incredible is that with each passing year they do get smarter and smarter, it’s a great thing to experience.

Thank you for letting me share, I miss my JR most of all but i know one day I will get to see him again, in the mean time I have more of God’s amazing creations to keep me smiling, learning and sharing .

Andrea from Hawaii