I came into Mom's life when she wandered into the pet store on her lunch hour. As she leaned over the side of the cockatiel playpen, I crawled up the side and tried to hop on her arm! She picked me up, and it was love at first sight. She didn't know exactly WHY at the time, but she knew that she had to have me in her life. (I think it was my natural charm that won her over. . .*ahem*)
Mom made a huge sacrifice when she moved out of the house. She tried to take me to live with her, but I wanted 24 hour companionship, not her 10 hour workday. To top it off, I was terrified of the stucco ceiling in her apartment. (That stuff might FALL on me!) I protested by refusing to eat during the day. After two days, she sent me back to live with her parents. She was heartbroken, but realized she had to do what was best for me. That was a tough lesson for both of us to learn.
My Mom collects model horses. From what I can tell, they aren't alive. She never feeds them, and they don't trot around or neigh like normal horses do. I love having my picture taken, so I often sneak into camera range when she takes their photos.*** Trumpet flourish *** Welcome to my kingdom! I am Kiwi, a male pied cockatiel. My human grandfather calls me the Eighth Wonder of the World. Look! I can even wear a cookie crown!
I was named after the Airline (Kiwi) not the fruit. My hobbies include tearing paper with my razor sharp beak, whistling "Pop Goes the Weasel" and the "Mexican Hat Dance," and playing catch-a-birdie with my human mom. Here's me admiring my beautiful beak. Don't I look handsome?
She was basically ignorant of bird life on Earth, so I had to teach her about bird food, cages, health problems, and avian vets. She was a smart cookie, though, and realized early on that birds are not toys or pet rocks; we are living, breathing beings with our own wants and needs. I never let her forget that, either. I also taught her about having fun in life and not taking things too seriously. I enjoyed entertaining her family and thought up new tricks so they would laugh all the time. I *loved* exploring boxes and garbage bags! Who doesn't?!?!
Here is a picture of me at my sixth birthday party. This picture appeared in a bird calendar. It was part of a fundraising effort to rescue Kiki, an abused African Gray bird. (He was rescued!) And, no, my Mom wouldn't let me eat the chocolate doughnut because chocolate is DANGEROUS for birds!
Mom *loves* Appaloosa horses. Those are the kind of horses that have spots all over their bodies and look like they have chicken pox sometimes. This is a picture of me doing a "three day event" with her Appaloosa horse, Rockabye. We are jumping a brick wall water jump in the "cross country phase" of the course. (Rockabye won blue ribbons at a model horse show, so he must be a special horse.) Mom used to ride an Appaloosa horse that looked like Rockabye.NOTE: Sadly, King Kiwi passed away in June of 2001. I'm keeping this page up so you can see what a fun bird he was. He is deeply missed. You can read his tribute by clicking HERE.
Photos and text Copyright 1998-2003 by Keri Krause. Please do not use this material without my permission. Thank you.Last Update: 5/23/03
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