Our crazy family pet SOLC #18

Read more Slice of Life stories at
Two Writing Teachers

No pet could replace our beloved black lab, Candy.  We had to put her down four years ago.  She was our family pet for 16 years.

Today, let's not focus on the sad story (we do miss you, Candy Lou!)... you've got to meet our current pet.

Tweety the crazy bird.

Tweety originally went home from the pet store with our neighbor, Cindy, and her family.  Their kids were in elementary school.  Tweety was a great addition, providing lots of entertainment.  A few years after Tweety arrived, they got their dog, Leia.

Now Leia thought Tweety might make a delicious snack.  Our neighbors worried about Tweety, and he had to spend lots of time in his cage, when he preferred to be out.

I mentioned to Cindy during one of our walks a few years ago that Allison (my youngest) needed something.  She had dance and hobbies, but needed an animal to care for.  We weren't ready for another dog.

BINGO!  We decided that Tweety should live at our house.  My husband was less than thrilled ("I thought I said no pets!") but he went along with a parakeet.  Low maintenance!  Now that Tweety has lived with us for almost two years, we have decided that this bird is crazy.  He definitely has a personality, and without him around, the house would be boring.

When Tweety gets a chance to be out of his cage, he enjoys:

• eating millet and spreading the seed casings all over the room
• flying around, landing on heads of our unsuspecting friends
• waddling around on the floor, searching for crumbs like a dog
• bobbing for cereal in my breakfast bowl
• biting fingers and complaining when he doesn't want to return to his cage
• squeaking like a dog toy when he wants to be goofy
• nodding his head to catchy songs (he especially likes songs from Pitch Perfect)
• sitting on the top of my laptop, cooing as I type

I don't know how old Tweety is, or how long his life expectancy is, but right now he's an interesting part of our lives.  Crazy bird!