Betty, I babysit my brother's fiance's african grey. I cannot wait for Gopher to get here so he can expeience this bird's vocabulary! It is just incredible! He meows like cat, growls like a dog, runs the water (faucet), says peek a boo, I love you, ....... the list goes on and on. He teases my cats!!! C'mere , C'mere he says! I yell at him to "Quit picking on my cats!!" LOL Paige > > I didn't go to see my friends after all, but there's always next week. > > I never thought I'd want to teach a bird to talk, but now it's starting to > seem like a good idea -- company you know. I am thinking about an African > Gray, who are the best talkers of all the birds. About two years ago, I was > in the store where I got Astro an African Gray that hadn't been off the nest > long. He snuggled inside the front opening of my jacket and didn't want to > come out. He really won my heart when he did that. I'll have to build up my > vet savings account again before I get another bird though. > > Astro's vet bill was $820.00 for two days of emergency care. It could have > been much more expensive so I need to sock away more before I do this again. > I don't ever want money to be the deciding factor for whether my animals get > medical attention. > > This has been an expensive summer for me, and I had to dip into my animal's > savings account which I swore I'd never do. It may not be like the kid's > college fund, but I would feel terrible if I had to say no to a medical > procedure because I couldn't afford it. > > It's bad enough that I've made decisions like that for myself. I'm sure many > of us have, and we all know what that feels like. > > Here's the sordid story for anyone who might be interested: > I was supposed to take Astro to a second vet -- an "exotics specialist," they > call them -- for more specialized treatment. I couldn't afford it and I > called to ask them if we could set up a payment schedule. They told me no, > since I hadn't been there before. I really don't think it would have made a > difference though. My heart tells me that she was still going to die. I > know I didn't say that before; I was trying to be positive. It was a killer > to hear the word "no" though. They could have called my regular vet clinic > and checked my bill-paying reputation with them. I and my Mother have been > taking our animals there for over 30 years. > > I can't repeat my response to the second clinic on this list. Trust me > though, I responded. > > Astro's exotics specialist, Pamela Slack, was killed in a plane crash last > year or so, but the vet clinic where she was still treated her patients. > Plus, they have 24/7 vets at that clinic. I took Astro there around 1:00 in > the morning the Saturday before she died, and it was business as usual there. > They had a full staff and everything. They took me back and let me see > Astro before I left, and explained everything that they were doing for her. > They took my feelings about leaving my little girl into account, and I really > appreciated that. > > I'm rambling -- sorry. It's been quite a week. > > That doesn't mean I've forgotten about the CP Grand Prix though. I'm not > saying what color my chair is either. > > Betty > > In a message dated 11/01/2000 9:44:12 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] > writes: > > > if this time with chi chi is benifitual, then you might want to consider > > getting a young bird and start over with it. but, my guess is that you'll > > need time to grieve for Astro before another bird would be in order. > > > > > Betty > aut viam inveniam aut faciam > "I will either find a way or make one." Paige ------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up for ICQmail at http://www.icq.com/icqmail/signup.html