Mean to mushy
by Tracey
(Austin, TX)
Dining Companions
My DYH Amazon came to me through my office. My boss rescued him from a patient, who was completely unable to care for himself or Paco, culminating in a house fire. Paco was ill-tempered, eager to bite, and just a "mean" bird, in general. He'd been raised in feces, scavenging through leftover human food, and socialized by an alcoholic who had the graces of a guttersnipe. Paco was much like him.
Another coworker and I took on socializing him. First we had to get him off the horrible human diet - which was all he would eat. Slowly, he moved through sunflower seeds to a good diet of fortified parrot feed with fruits and vegetable added.
Also after a number of severe bites, and many hard bites and "dent" bites (6+ months' worth), he's now full of kisses, puts on quite a show for everyone, lets me actually pet him and give kisses on his head, and even goes to strangers.
I started taking him home, and he's taken over. There's perches all over the house, but he frequently gets down and goes where he wants. Usually it's wherever I am, including insisting that he now has to sleep in the bedroom with me. My three cats have completely accepted him, and one LOVES Paco's seed mix. Paco just shoves the big head aside so he can get in the dish, too, but Smokey learned right away NOT to go near the fruit. Paco leaned into Smokey's face and let out a long growl - that put fruit stealing to an end.
So now he's got a forever home, with daily trips to the office. He goes to any store that will allow pets inside, Lowe's being his favorite. He hangs out on the deck with his feathered brethren, and the vet said he's very healthy. More importantly, I think he's very happy.
Editor's note: Do NOT let your cat with your bird just because you see this picture.
