The Late, Great Sweetie
"Christine Haftl"
This dedication is for our last and longest-lived budgie, Sweetie. She was
the nicest, most wonderful bird we could have asked for - except when she
chewed a hole in the wall (I'll get to that later). I remember when we first
got her from World Wide Aquarium and Pets in Lansdowne, PA. She was the only
healthy specimen in a group of sorry-looking budgies, so we got her. She was
green with a yellow head, black markings on her wings and blue cheeks with
black spots. She and I became the closest friends, and she allowed me to
scratch her head and neck. Believe me, a budgie's head feathers are among
the softest, silkiest things you can feel on this earth. Eventually,
however, I had to go back to school, which made Sweetie mad at me. She
eventually became attached to my mother, who misses her so.
Even my Dad loved her until she began chewing a hole in the wall next to the
closet. Sweetie never touched her toys and eventually chewed all the way
into the closet and got caught in the wall, so that my sister Elaine had to
chop her out with a small ax! We covered the hole with wrapping paper, and
Dad was puzzled at it, not knowing what happened.
Eventually, however, Sweetie developed a tumor under one of her wings and it
was only a matter of time before she passed away. She died two years ago
this March 2000, and although I try not to think about it anymore, I know
that Sweetie has crossed the Rainbow Bridge to be with all the other
parakeets we have had.
I miss you Sweetie, but at least I know this: when my own life must come to
an end, you will be waiting there in heaven for me.
- Submitted by Christine Haftl
