One day in the fall of 96, I was out at a tennis clinic at my club in San Antonio. There were four of us and the coach. As I completed a series of shot and moved off the court for the next player, a flash of green and tennis-ball yellow caught my eye. I looked more closely at the top of the chain link fence surrounding the court, and there I saw a parakeet sitting and watching us.Needless to say, our attention was pretty well shot from then on. The coach got a little annoyed with us and requested that we give HIM our full attention. The budgie was forgotten about and we continued to hit balls.
A short time later, as I was running up to the net to take a ball, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, that the budgie had landed on the court and was sitting on the sideline of the tennis court.
We couldn't leave him there - now could we!
So, we got a tennis towel and dropped it over him and then I picked him up and drove him to my vet's office. I hoped that she had heard of someone who had lost this little friend. Unfortunately, no one had reported a lost parakeet, so it was up to me to find him a home.
I had had budgies as a child and they had never survived more than a year (I wish I had known more about the dangers of second-hand smoke back then!). But, I was determined that I did not want another bird. I simply could not deal with dying birds and mess on the floor. (also, I own 2 cats).
Well, to make a long story short - Wilson has lived with us since then. We have replaced his tiny cage with a very large one, to give him more exercise space and we all love him. The cats sit under his cage and watch intently and meow occasionally, but that's as close as they get. Willie is a terrific friend to us all - he is bright and happy and very busy all the time. He was heaven sent to our household!
(Oh and by the way - his name is Wilson in honor of the tennis balls that he so closely resembles!)
- Submitted by AJAmbler@aol.com
