Letter From Lucy Leonard
"How I Fell In Love With My African Grey Parrot"
When I joined the Navy Reserve years ago I met a physician, who loves birds. Being attached to the doctor's unit, I remember that at each monthly weekend meeting he would mention how much he loved his Blue and Gold Macaw, Bentley Schoendorf. I never forgot how he expressed his admiration for Bentley and to this day, there still exist a strong bond between them. During Desert Storm, I was recalled to Camp Pendleton, California where I met my future husband, Bill. We married a year later and have been living in Oceanside ever since. We decided not to have a traditional family with children, but rather wanted to have a pet. We could not have a dog or a cat because Bill is allergic to them. After we went to the Wild Animal Park and saw the bird show, we entertained the idea of having a parrot. It was from that moment on that we were fascinated by a Congo African Grey Parrot, Bruce Nidel. Bruce could speak English phrases with more articulation than many humans. At that point, we knew that we wanted to get a hand-raised Grey Parrot and we were told to go to a place called Bird Crazy in San Diego. The Trainer during the bird show did mention to us that the life span of exotic birds could be the same as the one for humans, from 20 to 80 years. He also told us they are very intelligent animals who need a lot of attention and diversion in order not to get bored, which could lead to mental problems, self-mutilation or screaming.We drove to Bird Crazy on Clairemont Mesa . Lenny La Riccia, the owner, sold us our African Grey. We brought him home when he was only 19 days olds. Bill and I fed him parrot baby formula by spoon every few hours, like how one feeds a human baby. We have had our Grey for 13 years now. His name is Dukie Fred Dexter Leonard and he can talk 3 languages. He will attack Bill if he has the chance; however, he will not hesitate to be nice and butter up to Bill in order to get Planter's peanuts.Dukie obviously prefers me to my husband and loves me so much. We have a wonderful bond, it is one of the purest relationships one can ever hope to have with an animal. Dukie can also be a very paranoid creature and does not trust strangers. He also instinctively senses when we will have an earthquake. It takes time to earn any bird's trust, especially since they will always remain wild animals, no matter how tame they may appear.In addition to Dukie, we have a Goffin Cockatoo from Indonesia and a Blue and Gold Macaw from South America. Dukie is also bonded to the Goffin whose name is Dufus, after the TV show The Odd Couple. Dukie has learned to say several phrases from Arnold Schwarzenegger's films; "I'll be back" and "Hasta la Vista, Baby".Our birds have become a real part of our family and we could not imagine not having them in our life.
By Lucy Leonard
