Me & My Budgie - "Bird Boy"

Dedication to Bird Boy
I am writing a dedication to our precious little "Bird Boy." Bird Boy came into our lives about 2-1/2 years ago. He was a beautiful blue and yellow parakeet - the most beautiful parakeet I have ever seen. My sister-in-law was trying to find a home for him so we adopted him in November, 1997.
At first he was cautious of people and bit us whenever we handled him. But within a week he was fully hand tame. He spent time jumping and flying from location to location chirping whenever he made a move. My husband would whistle when he came home from work, and Bird Boy would come flying down immediately to greet him by landing on his shoulder. Other times Bird Boy would play with his toys while we were watching TV. He wasn't much of a talker, but could imitate my husband's whistles. Whenever, Bird Boy wanted to get our attention, he would whistle and one of us would answer him. He was always happy to see us and enjoyed eating pickles, salsa and crackers.
About 6 months ago he started developing some obsessive habits - chewing his cuttlebone and drinking water. Within a week we had to replace the cuttlebone and within 24 hours his water dish would be dry as a bone. We weren't sure what was happening but he started losing interest in the toys he used to play with. We took him to the vet - once for a major bacterial infection - he was cured of the infection but the vet could find nothing else wrong with him. However, he continued with his obsessive habits.
About a week ago I noticed Bird Boy bouncing around in his cage but unable to perch - his wings seemed to flay out uncontrollably. We rushed him to the vet for overnight observation, but they could find nothing really wrong with him other than being very tired. The vet suspected he might have had a seizure but couldn't pinpoint its cause. We took him home the next day.
Yesterday, we noticed Bird Boy seemed so tired he couldn't even stay on his perch. He would lean forward till he almost fell, then he'd wake himself up. My husband and I put him on the bottom of the cage and prayed for him. About 4 hours later, he seemed to be doing better and climbed back up onto his perch to sleep. However, within the next hour, he was having problems again. He was trying to preen himself but kept losing his balance. When we put him on the floor of the cage he waddled forward dragging his chest on the floor, while trying lift his wing and preen underneath. Instead of preening in the usual manner he'd flop forward and to pass out.
I grabbed him up in a small face cloth and held him to my chest. My husband and I both took turns. We held out some small hope that he could eat some baby food and we could get him through the night, but we could feel his body shaking from tremors and we both knew he was having another seizure - it wouldn't be long.
Bird Boy fought to the very end, trying to perch himself and clean himself up. We know he had a healthy body, but there was something wrong with his brain. The end came when he shivered once and the tremors faded. He was finally at peace.
Bird Boy was the sweetest little bird anyone could have ever known. He treated us with kindness and love each day. We miss him in the most terrible way! We love you Bird Boy!
Love - Mommy & Daddy
- Submitted by daiken@calpoly.edu