For years I was asked if we were having children. Boy, or girl, I do not miss that question! I always replied that it was not our plan, that my husband and I wanted to travel as much as possible. I always ended by saying that if it happened, we would be excited about it, which was true. But what was a lie we told ourselves was that we were free of responsibility, that we could up and go on a lark at any time. The fact is, three months into our marriage we brought home a cockatiel we named Cato; he was with us for 15 years. My in-laws watched him when we went on trips, loading up his gear to take to their place was more work than packing for two for a week. But we were so grateful to them.
After he died of cancer, EFF CANCER, it took us five years until we both felt ready to welcome another feathered soul into our family. In those 60 months between Cato and Piper, I had lost my job due to the financial crisis (which led to the start of this website) and was out of work for several years. There was no money for jetting off to here or road tripping to there. Then my career began again, requiring frequent travel. Two months after my mom got sick, and died, EFF CANCER, I was ready to love someone new. Piper came home, three months later I woke up blind. It took about five years for me to feel confident enough to explore the world again, now with limited sight. But what about Piper?
Piper is a conure, a different species than Cato. With no disrespect to our first hatched, cockatiels are a little less advanced than conures, so it was too much to ask my husband’s parents to birdsit for us. My dear, generous friend, Auntie D to Piper, lives down the street and did drop-in’s for us, one in the morning, then another in the evening to give Piper his snack and get him to bed when we went away. With the arrival of COVID, Mister Rain and I were home all the time with the little green guy, therefore, when it was safe to journey again, we felt bad leaving him alone all day except for D’s visits.
Another close friend had been using pet sitters for her two dogs, she introduced me to K who has become our favorite stay-with-Piper / house sitter. She is responsible, kind and loves Piper. Even though we clean thoroughly before we depart for our destination, our home looks better than how we left it when we return. And lo and behold, K is also an artist. She made both of the mini Pipers shown in the photo above, the origami was atop a tabletop Christmas tree after a weekend excursion last December. We have had others sitters stay with Piper who have been terrific but K to date is above and beyond. Because of this, we have come to plan our bon voyages around her schedule. Imagine telling a vacation home owner that you cannot come Saturday to Saturday as is the norm, you need to book the property from Wednesday to Wednesday because of your parrot’s sitter’s calendar. Everything we appreciate about K, her other customers do as well, resulting in her being booked in some cases a year ahead. This does not allow for an impromptu getaway nor even making arrangements for a few months out. Luckily, there is a great supply of other reliable, wonderful sitters, although the same problem arises with the quality people you want because of their exceptional care: when the “product” is exemplary, the demand is high. So we work our plans around not only K but our pool of bird watchers.
Auntie D was our first Piper sitter, she gave us back the gift of travel. For Christmas one year I made this ornament for her (the other side displays a photo of her with Piper on her shoulder). Piper means everything to us. How do you trust a stranger with that, regardless of excellent reviews, credentials, screening and a successful personal meet up?
Our beloved veterinarian, who cared for Cato as well as Piper for a few years before retiring, told us the first time we took Piper to see her after he adopted us, “You have to get away. Piper needs two parronts who have taken the time to recharge and relax.” We knew this, of course, but I still find it difficult to be apart from my boy. I cry every time I say goodbye because I will miss him, but I don’t have to worry about his care when we are not with him. Photos and updates arrive several times a day. Because I know he is happy, well looked after and spoiled, I am able to spread my wings and fly.
Piper often turns his back to me upon our reunion, I cannot say that I blame him. If he left me for just one 24-hour period, my beak would be out of joint too. What Piper doesn’t realize is that his mommy knows that a bird will only show his back to you if he feels completely safe. And with that level of trust, he must sense that while I am gone, he will be in the very best hands. If that was not an option, I would stay home. Travel is my passion, but Piper is my heart.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #birdmom #adoptdontshop #parrotsofinstagram #conure #ahelpingwingparrotrescue #myheartdoctors
