Playmates?

Looking back through my moodlings, I'm realizing that there have been no Budgie Updates since my first moodling about Rocky, the bright blue budgie that joined our household last January. 

He's a character, our Rocky is. We had his wings clipped when we got him from Baker's Bird Shop, and it took a good ten months for his cut feathers to grow out, so he had to rely on us to carry him around the house for a long while.

Early on, we attached a perch to the outside of his cage, and discovered that he liked to sit on it near the front window, where he could yell at the wild birds outside. He usually just sat, but sometimes he'd get excited and try to fly, and we'd find him on the floor, or sitting on the dvd player cord near the floor by the TV. He'd go missing occasionally, and we learned to look for him either behind the stereo cabinet, or on the floor near the front door because, as his wing feathers grew out, he'd fly crooked and end up in those places somehow.

But now that his feathers are full he can go anywhere he likes, and Suzanna found a window mount perch where he loves to sit if we open his cage door. He roams fairly freely, and isn't really interested in conversation with us human beings, but he'll sit and call to the neighbourhood magpies or talk back to CKUA radio announcers all day long.

And... since Remi has joined our household, Rocky is very, very interested in the puppy, and, not surprisingly, the puppy in him! There's a blooming bromance about which we're not sure what to think! If the dog goes to sleep in his fenced off area in the kitchen, sometimes the bird does a flypast, looking for his friend. Other times it seems that Rocky flies around just to catch Remi's attention, teasing him a little if the dog follows him from one part of the room to another. Whenever we're playing fetch in the living room, the bird comes out and sits on the edge of the TV tray under his cage and watches the activity, burbling away in approval.

Remi's interest in Rocky so far has been mostly from a distance, but because he's grown a fair bit, he can now reach the edge of the TV tray where the bird cage sits. So far Rocky has been careful to stay out of the puppy's reach. I feel a bit anxious if they get too close to each other, but when we lock the bird in his cage, he's unhappy, and seeing his delight in the dog makes us hope that, somehow, he'll be smart enough that the two can co-exist peacefully.

Of course, we know that there's a danger to letting dog and budgie mix, the danger all toward Rocky, but so far, so good. Today, when I took the picture above, Rocky was happily lecturing Remi in Budgerigar, and Remi seemed to be listening carefully.

So, we hope for the best -- that Rocky remains vigilant, and Remi learns to control his chase and capture impulses, and we continue to have the two enjoying each other into the future. I guess we'll see.