Byrd and JiaJia are two pet-friends that will always have a place in my heart.
Mother discovered Byrd as she was sweeping the hall one morning. Apparently the strong winds in the early morning had swept the nestling off the nest, and she had waddled under the sofa in our living room. Immediately I became foster mom - feeding, changing the soiled newspapers, getting a second-hand cage in readiness when she's able to fly, and simply just bird-talk with her. It was this bird-talk and feeding sessions that bonded us together.
She learnt at least three vocabulary: her name 'Byrd', 'up' when I want her to mount on my finger, and 'zhong-liang' for bathing. From the back yard, she can even chirp a shrill 'Byrd' response when I call out to her at the gate when I reach home in the evening. Whenever I said it's time for 'zhong-liang', she gets all excited - wags her tail and jumps all over me - and simply cannot wait for me to get the dish and set the water dripping. When she has enough splattering, she hops out of the basin - all dripping wet - and heads for a corner in my bedroom where she will spend the next hour preening and then resting, knowing that night has come and it's time to sleep.
When she is ready, she flies to a top most corner of the window grille, where she will sleep till first light. Then she will glide down right beside my pillow. And irregardless whether I am ready or not, she will wake me to demand her breakfast. With her beak, she'll open my lips and my eye-lids. If I had a late night and want to snooze, I get her on my finger and thrust her back to the window grille. It is a futile delay tactic because in less than a minute, she'll glide down and pester me again.
During the day, before I go to work, I will put her in the cage. She didn't like to be caged up, and inevitably I have to chase her round the back yard to catch her and put her into the cage. I will release her when I come back from work and she will be so ecstatic to regain free range liberty. Before her bath, she'll hop around the back yard and kitchen to investigate things, like the washing machine. One of her favourite activity is to hop onto one of my foot as I go about doing chores, and not only nip at a piece of skin and flesh, but twist it as well. It seemed that the louder I scream, the more it motivated her.
Jia Jia is the family pet and is closest to my niece. She is a long-haired chihuahua. When she first arrived, she was like a tiny ball of fur and can fit into a big pocket. When she is happy and excited, she will spin in circles. She loves chicken breast, so I'll steam the meat and divide them into smaller portion and freeze them for later feeds. She loves going for walks and car rides. And yes, she loves tummy rubs! In one of the photos, she is seen posing with the neighbour's pet pomeranian Goldie.
Byrd and Jia Jia. Long gone. But never forgotten.
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