Stats
Full Name: Katie Rosebud
Date of Hatching: November, 1996
Adopted: September 2000
Died: October 18, 2003
Uncommon Fact: Katie once stared down a pit bull.

I adopted Katie when she was three years old, from a family who was having serious problems with her. She screamed, she bit, they had to trick her into her cage, and the woman's husband was alergic! Consequently, Katie was neglected (hard to play with a bird that bites!) and so her parents contacted my boss-at-the-time, who contacted me. They gave me Katie (then Buddy, short for Rosebud. I changed it to Katie for the cartoon character, Katie Ka-Boom. It was appropriate. Trust me), her cage, her food, her bedding, etc., under the condition that I would NOT bring her back. Apparently, they'd given her away twice and had her brought back!

KJ helped me move the giant cage, and very shortly Katie had taken up residence in my bedroom!

She wasn't in the best shape when I got her. Malnourished, feather plucked, and generally unhappy. I got her to stop biting within a few months (getting her to relax away from her cage took longer, but did happen!) and started working on earning her trust.

It took time, but it happened, too! I moved to Canada (with all my birds!) the next year; by that time, she was happy to go wherever I went! She proceeded to terrorize some of my roommates and adore the others, and she started to grow in some feathers.

I worked at a ranch through the summers for several years, and at a groomer's through the winters. Katie went with me to both places. She learned to say "You stupid horse!" and "No! You sit!" (the saddest part was the day the dog listened to her rather than me...) and generally harrassed anyone and everyone she could.

Katie spoke several hundred words, and understood a great deal of them. Generally, she used those words to tease people (saying "Come here!" and then backing away was her favorite game) and occasionally swear at them.

Katie taught me some pretty amazing things. She was the reason I realized thumping birds' beaks was not a reasonably solution, no matter how large the bird. I did it one day and she snapped, "No! You don't bite!" Fair enough. If she can't bite me...

I expected Katie to outlive me, but things happen. I bought her a bird I hoped could be a friend. African Greys have the inteligence of a 5-8 year old child, and I thought she must be bored silly in her cage. As it turned out, the friend I bought, Alizarin, was sick with a terminal disease called PDD. Katie caught it, had a seizure, and died in my arms. As I'm sure you can imagine, I miss her dearly. Some day, I'll collect and put up Katie stories. As you can imagine, there's lots.