Disco
is a parakeet (AKA budgie) who lives in the Rochester, New York area.
He'll be two-years old in May, and lives with three humans, a cat, and a
dog. Disco is special because he is an excellent mimic, saying well over
60 phrases, including "Don't just stand there, bust a move," "Hasta la
vista baby bird," "I can't get no satisfaction," and "Nobody puts baby
bird in a corner." He also barks, snores, and meows. Disco is quite the
mimic, yes, but he is also a very gentle and friendly bird - the talking
is the elaborate icing on an already very sweet cake.
That is Octi the Octopus in the photo with him, and I do actually have a
video of him chatting "with" him. He's
actually chatted with him more interactively, but I just didn't get a
video. He occasionally acknowledges the cat, whose name is Mickey (he's sixteen
and going strong) and the dog, Freddie (a six-year old miniature schnauzer)
is too new to the house to really have a relationship. (He also cannot be
allowed to interact too closely with Disco - he's a terrier of sorts, and
would probably go right after Disco.) Disco really loves our eight-year old
daughter, Addie - she throws paper airplanes for him, and he flies after
them; I wish I had a video of it - it's hilarious.
The one thing I'd like to mention is how much Disco makes people laugh.
It's unbelievable how many times we see on his Facebook fan page something
like "I really had a rough day, but the moment I got home, I turned on
Disco's new video, and all of my stress just vanished." I also know that
Disco factored into someone's cancer treatment (they wanted him to be sure
to find humor where he could), and that pleased us to no end. Disco was
certainly soothing to me when my Dad was dying late in 2010 - I'd come
home from the hospital day after day for three weeks, sad and exhausted,
and here's this little green thing saying the silliest things in the
silliest voice, and all I could do was smile. They say pets relieve
stress, and I've certainly got the evidence.
