| Louie, The Little Quaker Who Thought He Could...And Did! |
 |
| Having no feet doesn't stop Louie! |
| Once upon a time, in the not-too-distant Kingdom of Illinois there lived a Princess named Rose. Rose had about everything she needed in the way of worldly goods, but still her heart was heavy. Prince Terry was always away fighting dragons, jousting for gold and bartering for good things to bring home for supper. Rose remained at the castle all day, every day, and like a good Princess was engaged in her needlework, creating lovely embroidered clothing for the Prince and some favored courtiers. What was the problem? Rose�s heart was overflowing with love, so much so that even Prince Terry and the favored courtiers did not provide a large enough vessel for her overflowing love. So� OK, let�s get real. Whadya do when you want to give and get unconditional love? Adopt a pet! Rose Keith is a talented lady who capably does many things, from designing images to embroider onto clothing, to photography, to convincing her hubby, Terry to do just about anything for her. But there is one thing that Rose Keith obviously cannot do. Rose cannot turn away from a bird in need! From the tiniest, plain finch to the largest, brilliantly-colored macaw, Rose just cannot turn her back on them. Most of us begin with a budgie or canary, but not Rose. Her first baby was a blue & gold macaw named Moochie. After finding a neighbor�s macaw out loose, she fell in love with it. When they found the owner and restored his parrot, Rose was heart-broken at having to give the little guy back. With a sad Rose, missing the talkative macaw, what else could Terry do but buy Rose another blue & gold macaw that she christened Moochie. The bird affair began at that moment, but there were to be no more purchases. All the rest of Rose�s birds are rescues. Next came Chance, an abused African grey; then Tuey, an unwanted Indian ring-necked parakeet, and then a tiny house finch that fell from its nest and was hand-fed and tamed and now goes by the name of Buddy. No obstacles were too big for Rescue Rose! And then she saw Louie. Louie is a quaker parrot, sometimes referred to in Kansas as a �Madagascar Hissing Finch� (private joke for some of our bird club members! ?). But Louie was not just any old ordinary quaker - that would not be enough of a challenge for someone like Rose. Louie is a quaker parrot who has no toes. NO TOES?!? As you can imagine, after watching his wife rescue a veritable flock of unwanted and abused birds, Rose�s hubby, Terry, was beginning to feel the house was a bit crowded. So when Rose presented the idea of adopting a special needs parrot from friend Cliff Patterson, Terry wasn�t too excited. Another hurdle? Not to Rose. After a well placed tear or two, Terry gave in and Cliff brought Rose her new little �Cuddle Bug� home to stay. |