At times I wonder if Petey knows he is a canary.  He plays like a puppy and has the temperament of a man. <g>  Wants a lot of attention ...  and if he isn't feeling well, a lot of coddling. Thank goodness at least he doesn't wear dress shirts which I'd have to iron !
 
 

Petey checks everything out carefully		He really pays attention to detail

 Petey pretty well has had the the run of the house  for  years now and flies all over the place but if he is out flying we do make sure to keep an eye on him in case he might go somewhere he shouldn't. Like sitting on a silk lampshade in the living room ... not a good spot for a wee canary to sit for too long,  and certainly not good for the lampshade. Another favourite resting spot is the fancy lace trimmed guest towels in my bathroom. One thing about Petey ... he sure does have good taste!

Petey has always had  a real passion for lettuce ( romaine hearts is the lettuce of choice) and  has always loved 'people food'. Heaven help us if  he doesn't get his share when we are eating. He will let you know loud and clear that someone here hasn't been served if we happen to forget him at mealtime. Of course we are circumspect about just what  he will get from our plates. After all he is a canary and we make certain he gets only food which is not going to be bad for him. He doesn't mind ... just be sure he gets 'something' from our plates.  Petey eats from our fingers or even our plates and even eats ice cream from a spoon and loves it ! Of course he only  gets a wee tiny bit  on rare occasions as it really isn't on his diet list but it's hilarious to watch him  slurping it up off the spoon.

I did have a video on the site for a while with Petey singing but decided to remove it as it was  creating more problems than it was worth. It caused so many computer crashes and freezes that I finally decided to take the page down as we certainly didn't wish to inconvenience our visitors. Now, thanks to Petey's Dad, at least you can have the option of  hearing Petey sing. Click here to listen to Petey

In the past several months we have had  some really major changes around here. We decided in early July  to find Petey a lady friend. We hesitated because we didn't want anything to change Petey. He is such a wonderful character, and  so different from any canary we have ever seen or heard about, and we certainly didn't want his personality to change. Finally however, we decided we were being selfish and made the big move.

 We knew the minute we saw Jenny that she was exactly the one for Petey. She was as feisty as he is,  but also  tiny and sweet as well. When Petey first saw her he wasn't at all impressed. You could almost read his mind. His immediate reaction was one of ..." get that feathered abomination outta here !" It was obvious that NO WAY was he about  to share his cage with her.

Thank goodness we had a spare cage or she might not have survived the first night. We decided to take it slow and place her cage close enough that he could get used to having her around before  we tried to introduce him to co-habitation. The next couple of weeks were quite interesting around here.

 As Petey has the run of the house and his cage door is open whenever we are around he did a lot of investigating. He spent quite a lot of time walking all over her cage and when he wasn't out and about he suddenly found the side of his cage closest to her to be his favoured resting spot. On one occasion  we discovered him actually touching beaks with the wee lady through the bars of her cage and whispering sweet nothings to her.  At least  we thought it was sweet nothings ... knowing Petey it could also have been, " Get lost ! This is MY territory ! "  We reached the conclusion we should take it very slowly and in the meantime  show him a lot of affection, much as if he were a child reacting to a new baby in the house.  The trauma of  having to share his Mom and Dad   had even sent him into a molt ! After all, Petey had been the only one for so long and always a very much loved part  of our family and  we realized he would probably need a period of adjustment before he would accept Jenny  as a member of the family.

 Because Petey was molting the progress of their relationship was slower than we had hoped it would be. We never thought  for a second that our sweet,  tough, little guy would be that upset by our  bringing him  home a companion. If we had I doubt we would ever have even considered it because neither of us would ever do a thing to hurt Petey. We both adore him.  I hated to see him going through a molt and still singing his heart out, even as  tired as I knew he was. He is always exhausted when he is molting.

Jenny had settled in from the moment we brought her home and very quickly she had had enough of this  two cage business. We had been opening her cage door when we opened Petey's,  and they had even dropped in to visit one another a few times for brief visits. Les  created a mechanism a long time ago whereby Petey's door becomes a patio, (or landing strip) depending on whether Petey is in a traveling mood, or simply wishes to lie around on his deck. He had also made one for Jenny after she had been here for a day or so. It soon became apparent that they were becoming much friendlier and when Jenny went visiting we experimented with leaving them together. Both of them  seemed to be quite  agreeable to this arrangement so the second cage was dismantled and put into storage and they became permanent cage mates.

Jenny had already completed building the best nest you will ever see and it went with her. She wasted little time. It wasn't very many days until the wee lady presented us with four eggs on four consecutive  mornings. Each morning the two of them would look at me as if to say "see what Jenny has done !" when I would remove the cage cover. They had settled quite happily into family life. We assumed this first clutch of eggs would not be fertile as they had not really had  enough time in which they had co-habited but decided to let Jenny finish the ritual before we removed the eggs and then see what would happen next.

 It was so amazing to witness this spectacle and to see the natural instincts of both Petey and Jenny take over so wonderfully. For example ... if Jenny left the nest to eat or to exercise Petey would take her place on the nest until her return.. He was so gentle with her and protected her and the nest constantly. What a good husband our Petey  had become !

 I know there is a school of thought that we should remove the eggs as they are laid, returning them to the nest only when Mommy has finished adding to the clutch, but Petey wouldn't let us touch those eggs or even the nest without  a major battle. We therefore decided it was best to simply leave them in peace as they certainly appeared to know what they are doing.

It was so much fun watching their antics that we  both spent  more time doing that  for several days than other things we should have been doing. Those two spent a lot of time  whispering to one another and nibbling one another's beaks. Petey had definitely decided having Jenny around was pretty ok !

 And then the most heart breaking thing occurred. Jenny had been out at the seed dish  and Petey was on the nest. She returned to the nest , settled in, reached up to kiss Petey and then suddenly leapt out of the nest, choking and appearing to be almost convulsing. She fell to the floor of the cage unconscious but quickly recovered and returned to Petey, kissed him again and then again began to choke and fell to the cage floor. She was gone in seconds. What a horribly helpless feeling to have a small being in trouble and be totally unable to do a thing to assist her  even though you are within inches. The entire episode didn't take two minutes.

 She had only been a member of our family for a short time but had totally wrapped herself around our hearts in that brief time. Our poor little Petey ! He had such a hard time accepting Jenny and had finally done so totally and then to have this happen simply wasn't fair to him.  Of course the nest and eggs disappeared as well so poor Petey had another big adjustment to make. At this point all we could do was make sure to give him a great deal of attention and love and hope he would forget quickly. 

 We decided to wait several weeks after Jenny left us before trying again but Petey  just wasn't our sweet feisty Petey and he wasn't eating normally  so we speeded up the process slightly and we found a very reputable breeder  to provide Petey with a new companion. Her name is Suzie and although she doesn't have Jenny's perky attitude she is very sweet and quite beautiful. Pictures don't really do her justice. She is a mosaic and her feathers are soft gray, white and yellow. She is as tiny as Jenny  and at first Petey wasn't at all certain he was  about to risk considering another relationship. Even Petey has learned that they can hurt ! However , before too many days passed Petey  had welcomed her into his private domain.

In the beginning Petey wasn't  particularly  affectionate with her ... unless you count pulling on her tail on occasion  showing affection. But Suzie sorted him out pretty quickly .. if he turned his back she grabbed hold of a feather and  gave him a dose of his own medicine. The first time she did it Petey's double take was priceless.

Our decision to do this  more quickly was the right one. Petey was soon  back to eating normally and was his old self once more. He spent  quite a lot of time teaching Suzie to sunbathe on our deck. You will find pictorial proof of this fact in his photo album. The photos do have to be from within the cage because of course when they are outdoors the cage door is never opened. And they only get to be outdoors if we are also outdoors and only a  few feet away.

 Suzie quickly became so well entrenched as a matter of fact that she has recently astounded us by building a nest and proceeding to lay an egg ! Reason tells us that as it is now the beginning of September it is much too late in the year for this to be happening but I guess no one told Petey and Suzie this ! She is spending a great deal of time in the nest protecting that egg and assuring that it is kept warm as a good potential Mommy Canary should and Petey is being an extremely good and attentive husband once again. We will be very surprised if anything comes of this as it appears she has stopped with one egg and is now going through the brooding period which the breeder advised we should allow to run its course.

 In any case, Petey and Suzie have indeed settled beautifully into domesticity and hopefully ... if  not now ... next spring we can look forward to  an increase in the canary population around here if the affection for one another which is frequently displayed  by these two is any indication.

 And now  we are well into September and unfortunately the next chapter of the saga of Petey and his family has taken another tragic turn. Suzie was doing a wonderful job of tending her one precious egg until earlier this week when once again we were faced with a heart wrenching dilemma. Canaries are such beautiful fragile creatures and for whatever reason fate has decided that Petey and Suzie were just not meant to be. Earlier this week Suzie suffered a  stroke and the brooding came to an end. We have tended wee Suzie and cared for her with tenderness and love  but it was decided today after consultation with the breeder that the only humane course was to allow him to  come and do our last favour for sweet Suzie. She has gone home with him where he will do what must be done in fairness to her. I have the utmost confidence that he will attend to her in a manner which is painless and right.

 The one thing I hadn't counted on was that he arrived  here  today with her identical twin sister  and asked that we provide her with as loving a home as we had given Suzie. Only a microscope would identify the differences between these two little ladies. Les and I had decided that we would not attempt increasing our Canary family again but would accept that it simply was not meant to be and Petey would have to accept this as well. We knew there would be a period of adjustment for him but also knew our little Petey is a very resilient little guy and with lots of love from us would be ok in time. However the decision was taken out of our hands. Petey was very happy to accept this new companion from the instant she was placed in his cage. Now, a few hours later Petey and Penny are happily becoming acquainted and Les and I are beginning to  wonder if we imagined the entire past week.

 It would appear the only change around here is the name of the female companion.  Life can be cruel as we all learn and perhaps this way is best. I do so hope we have made the right decision! For Petey, and for Penny. One thing is certain .. she will not find a more loving home.

The memory of the sweet loveable little gals who graced our lives and our home for such  very short times these past months, giving us many smiles  and some very pleasant memories, are still very much with us but life does go on and Penny  will hopefully  in a short time be well ensconced as our newest family member. One thing I do know ...  there will be no nest building for several months around here ! If they even think about it  they will be living in separate but close by quarters  immediately!

 If you would like to see more of Petey and Suzie, and even a few pictures of  our sweet  little Jenny just check out the Photo Album which you will find in the Nook Directory. When Penny has become more settled we will do our best to get her to pose for the album as well. 

 It is now January 2003 and  way past time for another update  but with the holidays and preparations for  all the company we had over the festive season Petey and I just didn't have time to  prepare an update before now. And boy, have there ever been changes around here !

 Petey's family has increased and there are now two little ladies in residence. Penny is thriving and she and Petey are getting along beautifully  after a few weeks where there were disputes from time to time which required separate living quarters on a couple of occasions. They are now sharing the big cage and showing signs that despite our stated intentions  they intend to  make an attempt at parenting. Penny has almost completed building a nest so who knows... anything is possible. We tried telling them it wasn't the right time of year for such antics but they paid little or no intention to us  and proceeded to do exactly as they wished until we finally gave in and provided the materials. She was finding the gravel dish rather inadequate, although she persisted for days with her efforts,  and was most appreciative of  our acquiescence.

 We really aren't expecting babies  at this time of year but Penny certainly is enjoying being busy  with her nest building. Perhaps she sees this as a way to  assure Petey's continued attention given that she now has a rival for his affections. Several weeks ago we were at the pet store where we always pick up their food  and other necessities and we discovered an absolutely adorable miniature little lady very similar to Petey in colouring and demeanour. We procrastinated for a few days but found ourselves returning to visit her and finally decided  we should bring her home with us.

 Pixie has settled in as if she knows she is home and is a very precocious little sweetheart who has quickly found her place in our hearts. She is still quite tiny but as smart as any we have seen other than our Petey. Our thinking was that she would be sturdier than Penny might be as she was not a hybrid  as Penny is and if we were to encounter any problems with Penny's health ( as we had with her sister Suzie) then Pixie would be here to help Petey deal with it. Thank goodness this hasn't been   necessary so far and Penny is even healthier than she was when she first joined our family.

 Pixie is also very interested in nest building  but doesn't appear to  realize that if she wishes to succeed at the enterprise she must first  be a little bit friendlier to Petey than she has been to date. They all play together  and do love to explore the house together but if Petey decides to  do a bit of courting she  very quickly sets him straight.

 Mind you , if  Petey has his way  we may need to convert the garage into an aviary as the kitchen is already  getting crowded with two cages  in residence. Les and I are spending an inordinate amount of time in that room, always our favourite even when only Petey provided the entertainment, but realistically there is only so much room and cooking and the related activities do have to take precedence over even Petey's growing family. For a neat freak (as I have always been) it is a bit of an adjustment but aw heck, what's a few more seeds on the floor ?

 February 13 2003

 Our poor sweet  little Jenny, whom we have not forgotten, would be very proud of her Petey, just as we are. Suzie was sweet as well of course, and Penny is precious, but Jenny will always be very special to us. It's been a difficult few months for Petey but  finally all is right with his world, thank goodness. 

 Have you ever seen new-born baby canaries? It is astounding to observe Nature's wonder, and really quite humbling. 'Wonder' is exactly the right word. So tiny and with such a will to survive, while at the same time so utterly helpless. This morning I was actually privileged to be allowed to  witness the emergence from the egg of the second baby . Penny seemed quite willing to have me nearby and although Petey was keeping a watchful eye on me he also seemed to approve.  They even stood back  from the nest when the birth had been completed and the eggshell had been disposed of by Mommy and  allowed both babies to be viewed for the first time without any hesitation. They looked at me as if to say " See Mom .. we did it !"

 I even managed to get a quick picture or two but only one really turned out as I was intent on not being a disturbance and  rushed the procedure. The one which turned out is quite an interesting one though. You can see yesterday's baby  under Mommy to the left , the new arrival on the right , and Mommy disposing of the shell by eating it !... ( a task which took all of about 90 seconds !)

No, I haven't forgotten our little Pixie... she is also sitting on eggs... four in fact, but we are certain they are infertile as she didn't take kindly to Petey's amorous attentions at all.  We have decided to allow her to finish out the cycle  and make the decision herself as to when she will leave the nest and abandon the eggs. Otherwise she might simply repeat this exercise in futility all over again and that is so difficult to watch. She is so sweet and well intentioned that it is not fair to the poor wee girl to allow her to go through this brooding thing  for nothing again.

 Maybe later.. but for now we will quite happily settle for our two wee  ones and our three very special feathered wonders.

May 30th 2003

We have updated the youngsters' page but thought this other news was best  relayed from here. Penny and Puffin have left our family and returned to Penny's original home. The choice was not an easy one but seemed like the sensible course of action. Our breeder is an absolutely fantastic man who adores every bird in his aviary and they could not be in a better home. He had been promised one of Penny and Petey's babies and was more than happy to have Puffin as he felt his singing ability would be a wonderful asset in his aviary and he was quite pleased with Puffin's colouring as well. Puffin's Mommy went with him as we were concerned that if we didn't separate her from Petey she would  continue to lay and it was becoming obvious that the hatching process was taking its toll on her and yet she was showing every indication she fully intended to do so again if we left them together. She is so adorable that we couldn't take a chance on her becoming ill. We knew that she would thrive with Frank, as she had done previously, so the decision was made.

 Petey actually seems somewhat relieved although a tiny bit sad as well. Petey shouldered so much of the burden of parenthood that he also is quite worn out and I was becoming very concerned about his well being as well. He is quiet, and he is resting more than usual, but otherwise has seemed to make the adjustment  with a minimum  degree of upset.

 Now our family is comprised of Petey, Pixie, Punkin and Poncho. For now at least Petey has his cage to himself once again. He does spend time with the youngsters when they are allowed to fly free but for the most part  totally ignores Pixie. Those two seem to have  developed an antipathy to one another over the past few months.  Perhaps in time this will resolve itself but if not, so be it. Pixie is a sweetie and if she never lays another egg that's just fine with us. It was never our intention to end up with an aviary. We only wanted Petey to have a family of his own. Which he has done. And,  thank goodness, although he did magnificently at parenthood, he is still the same wonderful wee guy he was before becoming a Daddy. Fun, and loving, and as smart as can be.

October 25th 2003

Update time again ! Long overdue but I have an excellent excuse. Petey has a knack for finding ways to keep me busy. This time he and Pixie really surprised me and produced three wonderful new babies. Obviously they found a way to overcome their antipathy to one another even though mating season should have been long past according to most experts on the subject. To be certain that they conform to established patterns we are being extremely careful to keep these two apart for the foreseeable future. Babies are wonderful but we have certainly got all we can handle at the moment !

 In fact,  more than we can handle. With the new arrivals our aviary now has seven  in residence and this means six cages to maintain and clean every morning. All but one of the babies are males and must be kept apart as they fight  if partnered with another male plus Petey and Pixie are now separated as well. The one wee gal is quite happily ensconced with one of her brothers but otherwise each is in a separate cage. As a result mornings are more than just slightly hectic around here these days.

So hectic in fact that we have had to reach  a decision. We are now attempting to find good homes for all but one of our babies. The problem is that we will not let them go to a pet store or  just any home.  It has to be where they will be loved and treated in the manner to which they are accustomed. We are not interested in selling them and are going to allow them to be adopted by families  who really want a precious wee canary to love.

It is so easy to become attached to these wee marvels that I am deliberately making a conscious effort to not allow this to happen as we take the time to find just the right family for each. We have decided to allow Poncho and Punkin to leave home along with one of the new boys and the wee gal. We simply cannot part with Benjie. He is so tiny and the smartest and bravest of the lot. He is, quite simply, so much like his Daddy ( except in colouring) that it would be like giving Petey away ! He most assuredly  has his Daddy's personality and intelligence. His colouring is so much like  Petey's first love, our precious wee Jenny, that we quite simply can not part with him. This will reduce our feathered contingent to  a complement of three. Petey , Pixie and Benjie. ( the "P" thing was getting a bit too confusing and Benjie seemed to be the perfect name for our wee sweetie.)

Hi Daddy ! It's me .. Benjie ... can I come in ?

 We haven't given names to the other two new ones deliberately. As I said, we are not allowing ourselves to become too attached so the parting will be less difficult.  And Poncho and Punkin are now at an age where they deserve to have the undivided affection of a new family. Both are quite independent little rascals now and give their Daddy more than a few moments of distress. No doubt about it. Male Canaries are territorial ! I know they will be happier where there isn't as much competition. Petey continues to be an absolutely magnificent father but once his babies reach maturity he very definitely believes in letting go ! Petey definitely shows a wisdom we humans would do well to emulate.

All of our boys are beautiful singers so the house is filled with bird song throughout the day. If one starts singing they all immediately chime in. No way are any of those other guys gonna  get all the attention ! It's really quite funny to see the look on visitors faces when these little wonders  begin their chorus.

 I have added some pictures of the three new babies to the album as well. We are making sure we keep some memories  for the time when our wee ones have left home. The remembrance of  the miracle of nature we have been privileged to share these past several months is something we shall always cherish.

November 14 2004

 My goodness, I had no idea how long it had been since we updated the Petey news page. Much has happened during this past year. Some of it wonderful, and some of it quite sad but that is really what life is like after all so why should it be any different for our feathered branch of the family.

 I will make this a rather brief update as this page is becoming much too long. First, the youngsters Punkin, Poncho and our two nameless wee sweeties left our home around Christmas time last year. All four went to the same home. A Veterinarian and his wife with a huge solarium in their home just waiting to be filled with the sounds of our canary songsters. Mrs Vet also happens to have been the daughter of a champion Canary breeder so she was ecstatic to have all of them. She has kindly provided us with updates on their well being from time to time and they are thriving and very happy.

 And no, that hasn't been the end of the baby saga. What  we were getting into when we decided  so many months ago to find Petey a mate has really ended up being much more than we had counted on !

 Pixie has proven to be quite determined and has no conception of breeding seasons. She insists on continuing to lay and the poor wee thing has had three more clutches this year. Two only hatched one egg from each and the other didn't hatch any  so we now have two more youngsters in residence. Their names are Buffy and Kacey and we are going to be keeping all three.. Benjie, Buffy and Kacey. The vet has said Pixie will probably continue to lay  so we have isolated her from Petey completely as due to her mothering instincts she has slowly been losing her feathers and now looks like a wee bald eagle. We have managed to keep her from repeating the process for almost three months now but she still hasn't replaced her feathers so we are reconciled to having a wee  bald eagle in residence. She has more than earned her place in our home.

 Because Benjie and Buffy are boys apparently, and  quite prolific singers we have cages all over the place ! ( which incidentally I still clean each morning as part of my daily routine) At the moment we are able to have Buffy share a cage with Benjie and at times we are not sure if she/he? is just a very confused little girl who doesn't know girl canaries don't as a rule sing as well as the boys because at times she and Benjie are quite affectionate with one another, nuzzling beaks, feeding one another, and generally showing evidences of affection for one another, while at other times behaving like wee tiny gladiators  determined to take control. Perhaps she is just a feminist ? Time will tell.

 So at the moment there are four cages. Petey in his own domain. Pixie in her's in another room where Petey isn't tempting her and Kacey in hers ( we think she is a girl but as she is the youngest we still are not absolutely certain .. she may begin singing at any time.)  Kacey insists on being where Daddy is never out of her sight so she and Petey's cages are both in the kitchen. Pixie and the other two kids have their cages in the family room. They all get their free flying time although we make very certain that Petey and Pixie are never free at the same time ! We just don't trust those two as history has shown they can be quite ingenious when left to their own devices. And most definitely the aviary's breeding cycle is OVER around here.

 As I mentioned on the opening page of our site  Petey is not doing very well these days. He is still eating and singing but has great difficulty flying and he just isn't himself. The Vet has determined that he has a growth in his abdomen  and feels it is only a matter of time until he begins to fail  or perhaps leave us. There really isn't anything which can be done about it apparently so I am watching him very carefully, giving him all the love I have in my heart, and treasuring each day as I watch to be sure he isn't suffering. He doesn't appear to be in pain but he just isn't Petey. When the signs appear that he is having discomfort I will be faced with a decision I know will be terribly difficult for me but whatever is best for my precious Petey will be the determining factor. In the meantime, each morning as I remove the cage cover I say a little prayer that my wee guy is perky and  happy to see me .. as he always has been and still is, at the moment..

 Say a prayer for our sweet Petey please. He has brought so much happiness to our home through the years. More than I ever could have imagined. Petey has never been just a canary. He has always been a character with a personality which is quite astounding in a canary and he is absolutely brilliant as well. I know I am prejudiced but everyone agrees with me , including two different vets that Petey has constantly amazed. He still loves to perch on my shoulder and help me as I am doing housework, he still manages to give me occasional kisses and whisper in my ear.. and yes, he still also manages to nip that ear if he  is annoyed with me !

When that dreaded day arrives I shall miss my wee buddy more than I can possibly put into words but I will always be so grateful for all the happiness and joy he has given me. I only hope  I have managed to repay that devotion in kind. I have been truly blessed to have shared these years with Petey, and his children will remind me of that fact  in the coming years as a little bit of Petey is still with us so long as they are around. 

Nature's wonders are truly our blessings. One more, of the many lessons Petey has taught me throughout our years together.

April 2005

 And here is the latest of the lessons Petey and his family have taught me ! Never , ever, take your eyes off a wee bird with an interest in the opposite sex ! Petey's children most assuredly take after their Daddy. Just when we thought the maternity wing had been closed down around here Benjie and Kacey proved us wrong. And I thought I was being so cautious. Never letting Kacey and Benjie out at the same time. Keeping Buffy at bay and in a cage with Benjie as he definitely was an amorous wee fella( who indeed had proven to be a boy after all and a prolific singer). And just when I thought all was calm ... Benjie managed to get out while Kacey was having her fly time and  before I could do a thing about it ... oops ... we had a new pairing !

Results ?  Meet Sunny and Buddy. Sunny is an absolute clone of his Daddy ( and they are impossible to tell apart now that Sunny is fully feathered ) and Buddy is the most like his Grandpa of all the babies we have been blessed to welcome into our home. I guess you know Buddy will NOT be leaving for a new home now or ever. Particularly given Petey's precarious health.

No, Petey hasn't improved , but he also is still with us and seems to be holding his own except that he has lost his sight in one eye and can not fly very well any more. He still sings, eats well, and is as loving as ever but he is getting older. He is more than 12 years old after all. I question the Vet's diagnosis because Petey shows no evidence yet of being in pain and I am starting to believe it is nothing more than old age which is my sweet Petey's problem. I can certainly relate to that ! The aches and pains and  other things that go along with getting on in years are most assuredly not restricted to those of the avian world.

 We now have seven birds in residence. All Petey's and Pixie's family. Obviously we are going to have to part with some of them  but  only when we find the absolutely perfect home for them. Those who have adopted babies from us historically have found we are very demanding when it comes to selection. Our babies are used to a particularly happy lifestyle and only a comparable home is even considered. We don't ask for any monetary exchange ... only that they will love and care for them in the manner to which they are accustomed.  Until we find exactly the right family Petey's babies stay right here.

Petey and Pixie of course  will remain with us as will Buffy and Buddy. Buffy was born with a club foot and although he is the best singer of all except his Daddy we feel he should remain with us. Buddy is  definitely staying as well. He will help to fill the void that Petey will leave one day, a day I am all too aware is not too far distant. Kacey may remain as well although she would be best in a home without males so she doesn't end up like her Mommy, our little bald eagle Pixie. Perhaps we will find  a home where they don't really want a singer but would love a wee angel who  is loving and perky and who does sing quietly and sweetly when content.

 Guess that means only Benjie and Sunny will be leaving us. And even as I write this I pause and think .. but the soft yellow and white is so lovely .. should we keep one of them ? Perhaps Benjie ?  Or maybe Sunny ?   Seven Canaries ? Am I willing to continue to clean five cages every morning from now on ? If Les has any say in the matter that will be exactly the decision made.

 Time will tell ... and in the meantime Petey is surrounded by his children and grandchildren. Perhaps for his sake we will just stay exactly as we are for now.

Oh yes ! One other thing ...Petey also  has his own  office
  Do be sure to check it out. It's really kinda neat.