Sister Rain’s Note:
In July 2015 I began a series of posts about Piper, my now 17-year-old conure (a type of parrot) who adopted Mister Rain and me when he was 6. I don’t intend to republish previous content on this site but I think the story of Piper and me is worth retelling to all who are new to Sister Rain. During the next several Fridays I will repost the Love Story chapters I had written almost nine years ago. Rest assured, there is a lot more where these came from. There always is when you’re talking about the great loves of your life.
PART 1
Originally Published July 30, 2015
I have written about my husband and my friends but there is a very special someone in my life that you haven’t been introduced to yet.
We met three years ago, three months before my vision loss. We were just getting to know each other when I became sick and there was a lot of work for both of us to do. He had some trust issues, understandably, and I needed to learn patience, never a strong suit of mine. He acted out a lot, was usually in attack mode and when Mister Rain or I reached out to him we knew we were probably going to get hurt.
But we knew his story and we were committed to him no matter how long it took or how many times he caused us pain. He was ours, and although he didn’t know it yet, and wouldn’t for a long time, we were his. Forever.
What I didn’t know when I entered into this relationship is that I would soon undergo the most challenging and scariest journey of my life and that he would get me through the darkest days.
PART 2
Originally Published July 31, 2015
Growing up, I had fish and a hamster, I had found out in my teen years that I am allergic to cats and dogs. When I met my husband, his family had a parakeet. This was my first experience with the avian species, I was intrigued.
After we were married we decided it was time to expand our family. We went to a local pet store as this was prior us having the ability to readily find a rescue. After several visits we brought home a male lutino cockatiel we named Cato, as in the Pink Panther’s “little yellow friend.” Terrible, I know, but I was young and a fan of the movies as well as their famous quotes. I know better now. Cato was three months old when we brought him home, we had him with us for 15 years. Cato taught us so much about birds, we knew one day we would add to our flock once again.
It would take five years until we were ready but the one thing we knew all along was that our next feathered child (yes, we’re those people) would be a rescue.
PART 3
Originally Published August 1, 2015
On the evening of August 1, 2012, I went on petfinder.com for the first time. I had avoided the site until I was ready to find a bird to love because looking before it was time would have been torture. My husband tells me I can’t save them all, but, oh, how I wish I could. I knew I wanted a bird from a rescue but had no idea where a bird rescue was located or if there even was such a thing.
I entered the criteria of young, male and conure, which is a small to medium-sized parrot. I had read a lot about conures in Bird Talk magazine when we had Cato and uee monthly glosy publications delivered to your mailbox were the norm. A conure was the type of bird at the top of my list. I typed in my zip code and hit enter.
I scanned the listing of results, discovering that the closest bird rescue was A Helping Wing Parrot Rescue and Sanctuary in Blairstown, New Jersey. Further reading indicated I was 62 miles from the rescue. So far, so good.
I selected the first listing from A Helping Wing that matched my specifications. The posting included the picture you see above. The information provided with the photo said that he was young but didn’t give an age. It indicated he was male. His name was Piper.
The description went on to say that Piper was spunky and had a big personality. The run down also provided a few more facts about the little guy, including the type of conure he was, an orange-fronted conure. I could see why when I looked at his picture.
I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight, but I kept going back to the website to look at his photo and re-read the blurb. I read it so many times, I knew it by heart.
Twenty-five days later, Piper came home with us. His forever home.
To be continued . . .
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