SurfCutter
New member
Well on a cheerier note I figured I would take up the request for animal / pet stories I just happen to catch sight of ...
As some of you know I have been lucky enough to grow up on a small farm.
Back when I was a kid it was for the most part still in pasture and a local farmer would mow and bale hay for his dairy cows. We from time to time have a flock of hens or ducks and geese even a couple of pigs if dad got a good deal on them .
It was common knowledge that my Mom had and still does a soft spot for the feathered friends. It was no surprise that her best friend came by one afternoon from her walk with a small pin feathered bird that needed care . It had some how fallen from it's nest and was about to be a cat's dinner when she found it ... Mom took the thing in and after some trail and error and a couple of calls to a friend from the M.S.P.C.A from a dietary suggestion and such she soon had the little thing growing fat and happy . It turned out that it was a Black Bird and was quickly called Blackie
He grew very quickly and by summers end had become full grown .
Mom let him have run of the house which at time was not always very fun , you learned to check for things and to keep some things hidden and or taken care of if you did not want it picked at or a present left .
All in all Blackie was a great pet and provided hours of fun watching him . Supper time was interesting especially if we had guests over , all plates could and often were Blackie's to pick over for the best of that meals food, but for the most part he had his own plate and was happy to stay there if give a few choice bits.
Life was very fun with Blackie he would get his drinks of water from the tap in the kitchen and took his baths in the shower if you were not careful to keep his company out.
Two things I remember most was his TV appearing on Rex Trailer"S Boom-town and the day Blackie escaped to the wild and how he was returned to us ....
As I stated before we had a friend that at the time worked closely with the M.S.P.C.A and just so happened to host the Critter Corner on Boom-town .
Well it was arranged for Mom , Blackie and I to see a filming of the show and Mom and Blackie got to be guests. I was very much let down to see my favorite show was not real buildings and that the invite did not also get me in as part of the shows group of kids .... the chance to see the Boston Franklin Park Zoo after and to see the sheep that the day before a lion got a hold of after it had escaped made up for it and the dinner out ... the second was the day Blackie got outside and flew off .
Mom did not clip Blackie's wing feathers so he had full flight control ... off he went , Mom was heart broken at his leaving , so Dad placed an ad in the local paper , not much hope was given in his return . A wild critter raised such as Blackie was has little hope of a long life once given freedom . Well it was a surprise to say the least that the following day Mom got a call from a man who claimed to have Blackie and would she come and get him . It seems Blackie flew about 6-7 mile and ended up at a golf course which happened to be running a semi-pro tournament . Lets just say that Blackie did not make every one his friend there , from landing on a pro's shoulder at the start of his swing and then pecking his ear to pushing the ball into the cup or away from the cup as the case maybe just made some players game go to ruin .
As luck would have it one of the local semi-pros figured it would make a nice gag gift to his wife and had no trouble getting Blackie into his car and home to his wife . At first she was amused with Blackie but after Blackie set up house keeping and roosting on the shower rod and the mess , she was not unhappy to see the guest go back home .
Blackie lived a couple more years after that and passed quietly in Mom's hands one winter day from what appeared to be a cold .... We have had the good luck to catch two parrots from the wilds , one a Quaker parrot which we named Petey and a Yellow Napped Amazon we named Polly . Petey turned out to be a female after finding an egg one day in her cage we got 4-5 total and Polly was a male and could talk but not fit for polite company , it took time but at least his wolf whistle was better than his few words .... I may later relate some of the facts of their capture and life in another story and so end this one now ..
Bill G.
As some of you know I have been lucky enough to grow up on a small farm.
Back when I was a kid it was for the most part still in pasture and a local farmer would mow and bale hay for his dairy cows. We from time to time have a flock of hens or ducks and geese even a couple of pigs if dad got a good deal on them .
It was common knowledge that my Mom had and still does a soft spot for the feathered friends. It was no surprise that her best friend came by one afternoon from her walk with a small pin feathered bird that needed care . It had some how fallen from it's nest and was about to be a cat's dinner when she found it ... Mom took the thing in and after some trail and error and a couple of calls to a friend from the M.S.P.C.A from a dietary suggestion and such she soon had the little thing growing fat and happy . It turned out that it was a Black Bird and was quickly called Blackie
He grew very quickly and by summers end had become full grown .
Mom let him have run of the house which at time was not always very fun , you learned to check for things and to keep some things hidden and or taken care of if you did not want it picked at or a present left .
All in all Blackie was a great pet and provided hours of fun watching him . Supper time was interesting especially if we had guests over , all plates could and often were Blackie's to pick over for the best of that meals food, but for the most part he had his own plate and was happy to stay there if give a few choice bits.
Life was very fun with Blackie he would get his drinks of water from the tap in the kitchen and took his baths in the shower if you were not careful to keep his company out.
Two things I remember most was his TV appearing on Rex Trailer"S Boom-town and the day Blackie escaped to the wild and how he was returned to us ....
As I stated before we had a friend that at the time worked closely with the M.S.P.C.A and just so happened to host the Critter Corner on Boom-town .
Well it was arranged for Mom , Blackie and I to see a filming of the show and Mom and Blackie got to be guests. I was very much let down to see my favorite show was not real buildings and that the invite did not also get me in as part of the shows group of kids .... the chance to see the Boston Franklin Park Zoo after and to see the sheep that the day before a lion got a hold of after it had escaped made up for it and the dinner out ... the second was the day Blackie got outside and flew off .
Mom did not clip Blackie's wing feathers so he had full flight control ... off he went , Mom was heart broken at his leaving , so Dad placed an ad in the local paper , not much hope was given in his return . A wild critter raised such as Blackie was has little hope of a long life once given freedom . Well it was a surprise to say the least that the following day Mom got a call from a man who claimed to have Blackie and would she come and get him . It seems Blackie flew about 6-7 mile and ended up at a golf course which happened to be running a semi-pro tournament . Lets just say that Blackie did not make every one his friend there , from landing on a pro's shoulder at the start of his swing and then pecking his ear to pushing the ball into the cup or away from the cup as the case maybe just made some players game go to ruin .
As luck would have it one of the local semi-pros figured it would make a nice gag gift to his wife and had no trouble getting Blackie into his car and home to his wife . At first she was amused with Blackie but after Blackie set up house keeping and roosting on the shower rod and the mess , she was not unhappy to see the guest go back home .
Blackie lived a couple more years after that and passed quietly in Mom's hands one winter day from what appeared to be a cold .... We have had the good luck to catch two parrots from the wilds , one a Quaker parrot which we named Petey and a Yellow Napped Amazon we named Polly . Petey turned out to be a female after finding an egg one day in her cage we got 4-5 total and Polly was a male and could talk but not fit for polite company , it took time but at least his wolf whistle was better than his few words .... I may later relate some of the facts of their capture and life in another story and so end this one now ..
Bill G.
