Tribute to Zoe and Franklin

I got to thinking how much I am going to miss my babies while I am on vacation. We are sending my cat and white-faced cockatiel to my husband's parents' house for the 13 days we will be gone. We didn't want them to think we had abandoned them or anything, so this way they'll get some love and attention while we are gone.

Zoe

I love my precious little princess! For those of you who have never had a cockatiel, they are the most lovey birds one could ever own. Ben and I bought Zoe from PetCo in late December 2005, not knowing her age or gender. She was gentle and loving right from the start and could even "Step Up", or step up onto our fingers at the petstore. We brought her home and in the middle of her very first night with us, she had a night terror. Most cockatiels have night terrors and flop around their cages and squawk loudly when waking in the middle of the night, only to get more frightened when you come runnning into the room to see what's going on. I was scared because Zoe had lost a few feathers and blamed Franklin for what had happened.

It wasn't until a month ago, when I brought Zoe to the vet for the first time, that I realized she was scared of the dark and needed a nightlight. I brought her to the vet because she had broken another blood feather (newly growing feathers that carry blood supply), and I was worried that we'd have another incident if I didn't get it pulled (we had to run Zoe to the emergency room, and she almost bled to death). The vet was very gentle and understanding because she had cockatiels too. That's when we found out that Zoe actually was a girl and was only about eight months old. That means she was only three months old when we got her from PetCo!

Zoe loves to love. She rubs her head lovingly on my face when I lean in to give her sweet kisses. When sitting on my finger, she puts her head down so I can rub her neck and ears (I know it sounds weird). She answers me with a non-musical whistle when I say Zoe! from across the room. I'll stop before all of you projectile vomit on your computer screens.

Franklin

Now, unto my second child. I got Franklin from a friend whose cat had had eight other kittens. He was the runt of the litter, and I had the opportunity to bottle-feed him when he was just a few days old. I got to take him home when he was three months old, on October 24, 2000.

Franklin loves to lounge under Ben's easel in the computer room, by the patio door (waiting for someone to open the door so that he can slip out), and in the cardboard box our TV came in that we have yet to toss in the recycling dumpster. He greets me when I come home and follows me around until I sit down, so that he can lay on my stomach and stare up at me with his beautiful green or amber eyes- his eye color changes. He loves to play with his dragonfly-on-a-wire toy, laser pointer, stuffed mice, and stuffed cat. He also gets really crazy and runs and jumps up doorways.

One more thing... I feel bad for not mentioning her. We also have a Golden Greek tortoise named Socrates. She's not very interesting, but she's pretty darn cute.

So, that's my tribute to my babies that I will miss and worry about the whole time that I am trying to enjoy myself on the west coast. Next up- why I made an appointment with the psychologist.