UA:Comic Blog

Blog #33

Monday 20 December 2010

Yesterday afternoon, one of the cats jumped on top of Dave's (twenty-plus year-old cockatiel) cage. I didn't see it happen, but I heard it. The unmistakable sound of a cat landing on top of the cage. Dave squaking, flapping his wings frantically. He doesn't always freak out when one of them gets up there. I'm guessing maybe he was asleep and it startled him.

I rushed downstairs. As I said, he doesn't usually freak out. He's lived with cats most of his life and he's taught them to respect him.

He was old and he had fallen off his perches more than a few times the past year or so. He must have fallen wrong. I called him. No response. I unlatched the door and reached in, hoping he would spin around and try to bite me. Nothing.

There's some tiny consolation in knowing that he didn't suffer.

I held him for a while before I prepared him for burial. He never would have tolerated that before, but it felt right.

Dave was a great bird.

Sometimes something as simple as sunlight shining into his cage and he would dance back and forth on his perch, bobbibg his head, and chirping and singing. I alsways thought he was screaming "I'm happy!"

His favorite seed mix had both red and blue seeds mixed into it. As far as I could tell, they were both actually the same seed, just with different food colorings. Dave loved the red ones, systematically picking them out, carefully shelling them and eat them. The blue ones he would pick out and throw out of the bowl, often out of the cage, and when possible, at me. I'd love to have him throw a seed at me just one more time.

A couple of seasons ago, when Evil Dick first came on the screen on Big Brother, Dave started chirpping and dancing. The entire season, during Big Brother, during Big Brother After Dark, and even during the live feeds online, if Evil Dick was onscreen, talking or not, Dave was happy and dancing. I should have called a bookie. Dave obviously knew a winner when he saw one.

A friend brought over a gun that shot suction cups and had a laser sight. The cats were thrilled. The friend pointed the gun at Dave and fliiped on the laser. Without hesitation, Dave flung himself off his perch and out of sight. Over the course of a laugh-filled hour, we concluded that Dave was actually a (semi-)retired Navy Seal. I'll miss you, you fierce little Navy Seal.

Rest in peace, Dave.

Filed under: pets