Introducing Bonnie (previously known as Clyde)

It's time for me to introduce a new family member of mine.

I received an unexpected call one Sunday night about 6 weeks ago, while standing in the checkout line at Lowe's. I didn't recognize the voice, but the man on the other end knew my name and said "if you still want him, he's yours". Um, what??

After recovering from the shock of that statement and reaching back into the foggy depths of my memory, I realized this guy was calling me about his parrot that he was rehoming... that I had inquired about TWO MONTHS before and never heard back. I soon discovered the reason why. He had been diagnosed with cancer and had been in and out of the hospital. I quickly made arrangements to meet "Clyde", his Timneh African Grey parrot, on my lunch hour the next day.

Walking into this house, I knew that I was going to do whatever I could to get Clyde home with me as soon as possible. It didn't matter if we got along or not, he was coming home with me, period. Without going into details, I'll just say it was not a healthy environment for any bird, animal, or even human.

On our initial meeting, Clyde bit me numerous times. I had welts all over my hands. His owner warned me that he had never liked women, but was happy to see that his aggressiveness towards me didn't phase me. Long story short, Clyde came home with me that night.

Two days later, he was at the vet for his very first exam ever. Because I have two other birds, he was quarantined in a separate room at my house and I told the vet to pretty much run every test on him. Of course, one of the first results that came back was the DNA sexing test... Clyde was a GIRL! What a dilemma - do I keep her name as Clyde (which she knows) or do I rename her and give her a clean fresh start to her life? Thanks to my brother-in-law's great suggestion, she was rechristened "Bonnie" (of "Bonnie and Clyde" fame).

Unfortunately, one of her test results came back positive for psittacosis/chlamydiosis. Her treatment was 5 weeks of weekly injections of doxycycline - and the last one was today! WOOHOO! Now all we have to do is get her retested next week and wait for the results. Assuming (and yes, I'm thinking very positive here) all is well, she will soon be out of quarantine and be able to take up residence in the living room with my other two birds.

Our relationship has improved dramatically. She cuddles (on her terms, of course) and talks to me... and even dances with me. Our nightly routine is for her to sit on my arm while I'm reading in her room for awhile and she seems content and happy. She's learning to play (she's been beating up a bell toy recently) and is starting to show interest in healthier foods (veggies, fruit, grains).

I had no idea she was coming, but I'm so glad she's here. Here she is, enjoying her new digs.



MANY thanks to Amy Meade, from Best Friends Animal Society. She has been incredibly supportive and helpful every step of the way in this rescue and I'm so grateful to her (Bonnie thanks you also!!).