I just heard a statistic about smiling. Children at age four smile an average of 400 times per day. Adults at age 30 smile and average of 15 times per day. What happens to us as we age? We tend to forget what makes us happy and friendly, and forget to enjoy what we have in front of us, our pets. They are the only ones we get unconditional love from, and the ones that make us smile more than the average 30 year old. They are the ones that make us laugh and sometimes so hard that we even cry, and the ones we need to take care of and truly cherish.

As I was taking a shower today trying to figure out what to write the next newsletter about and thinking of how sad this statistic is, I looked up and smiled. Every day that I shower I put my pet Hyacinths Blue and Xena on top of the shower stall. Whether they want to shower that day with me or not, I put them there for the added attention they like. As I’m whistling I notice that Blue starts to whistle too. But now he decides to do so while his head it tucked under his wing. I smile. Xena starts to dance to the music in the other room and I smile and start to dance too. And here we are with this newsletter. Maybe not the typical information newsletter, but one that makes us smile.

What made me laugh the other day so much that it brought tears to my eyes is an encounter with Blue and a friend’s little white dog. I ran to get the video camera but could not duplicate it again. I’m sure that has happened to you with your birds many times, wanting to capture something precious. So I walk into the bird room to feed the birds and this little dog follows me in. Curious she starts to bark at Blue. He sees this, feeling that he’s all that, and proceeds to climb down the cage to get on the wood floor where the dog is. He wants to bluff his way around to show off so he gets on the floor, cautiously, and heads for the dog. The dog sniffs at him and he strikes. Of course the dog backs off and Blue runs after the dog. What brought me to tears is that as the dog turned around to run, the floor was so slippery that she was running as fast as she could in place while Blue was reaching for the tail. All I could hear is Blue’s nails walking faster towards her and her feet going 100 miles an hour trying to get away. I was trying to pick up Blue, even though I knew he would not hurt her, but was laughing so hard I could not speak. She made her way about 12 inches and turned and the process began again, all the way to the kitchen with both stopping before getting to each other and turning and running again. I know you had to be there, but that moment brought so many smiles and laughs to me throughout the next few weeks every time I thought of it. I know you all have stories like that with your birds. They make us smile. They make us young and happy. This is their purpose.

I think of the Caique that fills a couple’s life. They dress him up every holiday for pictures. The bird loves the attention it gets and continues making them and others smile. I think of the Amazon that laughs when you laugh. The harder you laugh, the more he does, and so on. I think of the African Grey that mimics a crow outside at night, playing with your mind. There are no crows at night making noise, but it sounds so real it makes you wonder. I think of my Macaw who whispers at night. During the day he talks, never whispers. I go in nightly just to hear him, and smile. I think of the Lovebird that tucks the paper under her wing to build a nest or the Cockatiel that flies to be with you. I think of parrots that cry like a baby, bark like a dog and meow like a cat. When you leave the house, you pick up your keys and your bird says bye bye, love you, or you walk in and hear hello. I can’t help but laugh when my Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Squirt, is on the floor of the store heading towards the toy wall, to pick out his own toy. Or when he opens his cage, comes out, and closes it behind him. He also yells out “Go Ca Ca” when anyone around him is eating and he wants some food. Sorry, but that was the first phrase he learned while potty training him and he got us to feed him treats when he spoke. I should have started with Yum Yum.

Our birds are here to love us, entertain us, make us happy when we’re not, talk to us, forgive us, respond to us, play with us, protect us, cuddle with us, nurture our hearts and fill us with joy. We in turn have to give back what we receive from them. But always remember that they absorb our feelings like a sponge and we need to be positive and happy around them. This way they not only will make us smile, but they will also smile back.

Thank you for giving your birds back what you receive from them. They deserve that and more. -Omar