Dexter Redux

While Juno was doing her ZOMBG Let Me Out Right This Instant dance, Mom remarked, "She's so friendly, unlike another bird I know."

Mom has taken Dexter's...issues...a bit hard. She is the Fairy Birdmother. Birds love her. And she loves birds. When she took Dexter in, I'm pretty sure she was thinking that with love and patience, he would come around and be at least willing to consider humans were not inherently evil beings out to get him.

Except it's been four months, and when you walk into a room, Dexter goes on high alert and waits to be devoured. It's very, very sad.

So seeing Juno all but falling over herself wanting to play must have been a relief, but also somewhat sobering. "Dexter was probably like that once."

Frankly, I can't imagine Dexter any other way, and told her so. I thought he was an aviary bird, hence the wariness of people.

Apparently, the vet working with him feels that he was indeed handfed and handled as a youngster, as he knows "step up" (when it suits him). The general consensus is he was purchased, stuck into a small cage and used as decoration. He was probably never interacted with or played with. This went on for years - we're not sure how old he is, he might well be middle-aged. Then one day he flew away and was plucked and beaten up by wild birds, and finally landed somewhere in Irvine, starving.

And now he's just a statue. Mom had him in the same room as Sydney for awhile, and Syd seemed to help him improve; they could chirp back and fort, and Syd loves people, which showed Dexter that we aren't out to eat all cockatiels. But Syd's been sick, so Mom isolated him, and Dexter is in Greg's room, where he hisses at the budgie.

It just never really occurred to me that Dexter could be anything but Dexter. But even now, he's not really a biter; he prefers to run away, but once you catch him, he resigns himself to his fate. So I guess it makes sense that he was at one point intended to be a beloved pet. I just wonder what level of interaction he had...if any...to make him like...that. How neglected does a bird have to be to avoid people entirely? And how do you even do that to a bird, much less a cockatiel, which is basically put on the planet to be adorable?

It's like people who are mean to Golden Retrievers. I don't get it.

I wish he would come around a little bit, for both their sakes. Mom desperately wants some indication that she's doing the right thing with this bird, and if Dexter could show some sort of response, anything...and being that scared all the time must do terrible things for his blood pressure.

Then there's Juno. I really think she was a favorite in the back room where they took care of the birds; she's so. damn. friendly. She didn't even hesitate when Mom and Brother showed up, although she was somewhat suspicious of Brother's baseball cap, and went right up to Lindz, too. I got really lucky with this one. There's a general wariness of pet shop birds on the forums I've been reading. We're encouraged to carefully examine them, play with them if we can, make sure they are handfed and healthy. I, er...well, I watched her eat, play with a toy and then do everything in her power to entertain me, and I said "Hey, I'll take the cockatiel." Even the kid who sold her to me looked surprised.

Fortunately, Juno popped out of her transport box ready to play. People say, "Wow, she really picked you." Now, logically? This is a friendly bird. She would have done the exact same thing for anyone, and probably did. But I got it twice in a row, so I like to think she recognized a sucker when she saw one.

It's hard to imagine Dexter like this.

Sigh. I hope that boy comes around.