Pet of the Day

January 2, 2002

Today's Pet
Nominate Your Pet
Previous Pets
Pet Talk
Poll
Search
Why?
About Us
Sprite, the Pet of the Day
Name: Sprite
Age: Twelve years old
Gender: Female
Kind: Half-moon Conure
Home: El Paso, Texas, USA
 
   Please don't tell my other birds, but Sprite will always be my favorite! She is also the first parrot I have ever owned. Sprite was purchased (rescued) for $60 from a hole-in-the-wall pet store in June 1990, where she was kept in a tiny cage. Life for her has only improved ever since! I put her in a bigger cage and fed her fruits, veggies and human food. I tried to pet her every day and succeeded after five weeks. I was late for work that day, I can tell you! Sprite spoke her first words, "Come here," eight months later, again making me quite late for work.

    Sprite practices "civil disobedience" - when it is time for her to go in her cage she refuses to get on my finger, stretches her little body horizontal and begs to be petted. Sprite can also say "okay," "parrot," "pretty pretty parrot," "g'bye" and "Gimme a cookie cookie cookie." When she knows she is being bad (which is often), she says "bad, bad parrot" before I can even open my mouth! She makes fun of me by making a slurping sound whenever I am about to take a drink. She also gives kisses (complete with sound effects and pecking motion) on command, and says "tickle, tickle" when I scratch her belly. Sprite can complete a word - If I say "PAR-" she shouts "-ROT!"

    Sprite plays soccer with a ping-pong ball (my fingers form the opposing team). She also attacks her coke can and chases it across the floor, and she loves to chew up cloth and hide in cardboard boxes. She has the most personality of any bird or other pet I have ever seen. Sprite's favorite food is meat out of a hamburger. Take one look at this little carnivore, and tell me she's not the direct descendant of velociraptor!
 

Find out how your pet
could be Pet of the Day.