hiriki
Well-known member
- Oct 19, 2014
- 536
- 742
- Parrots
- (Birdie - Jenday Conure)
(Kiwi - Green Cheek Conure)
(Elby - Lovebird)
(Gorou - Ringneck Dove)
One of my cockatiels has been giving me regular scares recently that he's going to pass soon--he's a senior boy and it's just about his time--but it's really had me thinking about the past. I just wanted to take a moment for the pets I've lost and share a little bit about what made me love them so much. I've had plenty of time to mourn and process their passing but I just feel like sharing I guess. If you have pets you've lost, no matter how long ago, I'd love to hear what you loved about them the most.
My first rats, Hamlet and Cravat, introduced me to what it's like to be a pet owner. Hamlet was always getting into trouble but he was such a mischievous, playful boy. He held grudges, too. One time my irresponsible college self handed him a Cheez-It only to feel guilty about encouraging such bad eating habits moments later. I took the Cheez-It away and boy, did he shriek! He didn't let me pick him up for weeks. He also had a unique obsession with receipts... friends and family would collect receipts for me to give him as nesting material. Cravat was a potato by comparison, but he sure loved to cuddle. The two of them had a spot at the end of my bed where they liked to nap during the day, especially if I was in bed studying and they'd nestle up against my foot. They were truly the best roommates imaginable and I'll never forget them.
Kibble was a fickle girl, but when she decided she loved me, she never changed her mind. She was given to me by a roommate who left the country to teach English abroad and even though my relationship with that friend was rocky at the time, I was so grateful that she chose to leave Kibble with me. Kibble was a talented destroyer-of-paper-goods. She once conspired with my conure to tear up the books on the shelves above my bed and woke me up one morning raining paper bits down on my face! She loved to preen me, be preened by me, and otherwise keep me company.
Eleven and Marshmallow were troublemakers! I have a video of Marshmallow sneaking up to my plate of rice--I expected her to slip away with a grain or two, which was a grave mistake, because she pulled a mountain of rice off the plate and right under my covers. They'd whisk away entire chicken nuggets or stalks of broccoli. They were my very first "foster fails." They were the last two rats of a litter I helped to adopt out. Rats are so easy to love, and so hard to lose. I never feel that I have enough time with them.
Kitty was my companion as a latchkey kid and she was fantastic at it. She would wait at the storm door for me every day after school and shout "Hello!" at me the moment she saw me down the drive way--long before I could hear her, but I could see her mouth open wide. I'd shout back, "Kitty!" so loud that the other students walking by surely thought I was crazy. And then I'd collapse on the entryway rug to cuddle with her the moment I stepped inside. It was a ritual. Kitty was all about rituals; she also came running from wherever she was in the house when she heard me step out of the bathroom in my robe after a shower and insist that I sit down on the stairs and cuddle her for a minute. Kitty taught me that the best of friends don't always walk on two feet.
Fritter was truly a weird cat. She was incredibly round no matter what diet we put her on, and she had the tiniest head perched on tubby, broad shoulders. And she screamed in reaction to everything. Her happy vocalizations and angry ones sounded exactly the same: a scream. She probably had a few screws loose but I could never regret bringing her inside. She went from starved half to death and flea-bitten to fat and happy, and I could always count on her to nestle up against my hip in bed.
Perla and Hiriki are two doves I'll never forget. They never met each other but they are connected in my memories because I still blame myself for what happened to them. Hiriki was sassy, and the closest thing to a dove companion I've ever had. Adopting bonded pairs means they don't give me much love--but Hiriki would regularly land on my head and stamp around a bit, her sassy little dance of dominance. Perla was an absolutely gorgeous girl, and a fantastic companion to Gorou.
My first rats, Hamlet and Cravat, introduced me to what it's like to be a pet owner. Hamlet was always getting into trouble but he was such a mischievous, playful boy. He held grudges, too. One time my irresponsible college self handed him a Cheez-It only to feel guilty about encouraging such bad eating habits moments later. I took the Cheez-It away and boy, did he shriek! He didn't let me pick him up for weeks. He also had a unique obsession with receipts... friends and family would collect receipts for me to give him as nesting material. Cravat was a potato by comparison, but he sure loved to cuddle. The two of them had a spot at the end of my bed where they liked to nap during the day, especially if I was in bed studying and they'd nestle up against my foot. They were truly the best roommates imaginable and I'll never forget them.
Kibble was a fickle girl, but when she decided she loved me, she never changed her mind. She was given to me by a roommate who left the country to teach English abroad and even though my relationship with that friend was rocky at the time, I was so grateful that she chose to leave Kibble with me. Kibble was a talented destroyer-of-paper-goods. She once conspired with my conure to tear up the books on the shelves above my bed and woke me up one morning raining paper bits down on my face! She loved to preen me, be preened by me, and otherwise keep me company.
Eleven and Marshmallow were troublemakers! I have a video of Marshmallow sneaking up to my plate of rice--I expected her to slip away with a grain or two, which was a grave mistake, because she pulled a mountain of rice off the plate and right under my covers. They'd whisk away entire chicken nuggets or stalks of broccoli. They were my very first "foster fails." They were the last two rats of a litter I helped to adopt out. Rats are so easy to love, and so hard to lose. I never feel that I have enough time with them.
Kitty was my companion as a latchkey kid and she was fantastic at it. She would wait at the storm door for me every day after school and shout "Hello!" at me the moment she saw me down the drive way--long before I could hear her, but I could see her mouth open wide. I'd shout back, "Kitty!" so loud that the other students walking by surely thought I was crazy. And then I'd collapse on the entryway rug to cuddle with her the moment I stepped inside. It was a ritual. Kitty was all about rituals; she also came running from wherever she was in the house when she heard me step out of the bathroom in my robe after a shower and insist that I sit down on the stairs and cuddle her for a minute. Kitty taught me that the best of friends don't always walk on two feet.
Fritter was truly a weird cat. She was incredibly round no matter what diet we put her on, and she had the tiniest head perched on tubby, broad shoulders. And she screamed in reaction to everything. Her happy vocalizations and angry ones sounded exactly the same: a scream. She probably had a few screws loose but I could never regret bringing her inside. She went from starved half to death and flea-bitten to fat and happy, and I could always count on her to nestle up against my hip in bed.
Perla and Hiriki are two doves I'll never forget. They never met each other but they are connected in my memories because I still blame myself for what happened to them. Hiriki was sassy, and the closest thing to a dove companion I've ever had. Adopting bonded pairs means they don't give me much love--but Hiriki would regularly land on my head and stamp around a bit, her sassy little dance of dominance. Perla was an absolutely gorgeous girl, and a fantastic companion to Gorou.
