rusty was always brazen, full of life, and a right little character. 



in his youth he would tear about the place, throwing toys, tubs of marbles, all while squaring up to the camera. often he was the one who would scare the neighbours cat, not the other way round. 



the first time he ever tried human food was when my mum and i were watching tv, eating cheese on toast. he came over and plunged both his feet into the slice on my mum's plate (from then on mum was the one with the word "MUG" tattoed on her forehead) leaving her with the crumbs! his love of savoury food began here.



he loved mirrors, especially when he was in them. he also loved little plastic penguins, so much so he would usually break off their wheely legs and pull a face that said "i'm the man!". this would often be multiple times, and they wouldn't be the only toy he ever broke. 



one time i put a marble in the curved bottom bit of the laundry basket, and it would roll around and it annoyed him that he couldn't get it out. by himself he dragged a penguin over to help. he actually had the smarts to hit the penguin so that would hit the marble to get it out. it was so sweet i wished i'd filmed it. 



for his first birthday/christmas, he got a lovely surprise of 7 little wrapped up presents which he was all curious to see.  

one time he completely chewed right through a pair of slippers. you'd think we had a dog, not a budgie.



as he got a bit older, he would usually chew my necklaces and preen my hair. always twittering non-stop if i started to watch tv or ignore him. 



he was a very smart budgie. i would say things that are quite complicated for a small budgie to learn to understand, but he understood me. especially when i was insulting him in a jokey way. Que "SQUAK"



he developed a fond love of tv and radio. he is not however a fan of harry potter. particularly the 2nd film in the scene where the phoenix bursts into flames. this resulted in a minor falling off the perch and ruffling of a few feathers, until he saw the bird being reborn from the ashes. 



during this time, some of us were very likely to get mugged at the dinner table whilst watching tv. one time i was sitting on the sofa eating pasta, and my mum had left her own plate on the table unattended. rusty flew over my head, landed in the plate with a little splash, tasted a little of the cheesy sauce, spat it back out, then flew away again. mum returned, cutlery in hand, starving, only to find out the little pest had got there first!!! everything that came into his domain...was his. no buts!



in his senior years, he became very fond of minty fresh breath, smugness, and all-day-long naps.  he did not enjoy kiwi flavoured honey treats. he was more of a cheese'n'garlic kind of guy. we got cheese and garlic flavoured bites out of M&S, and the minute he took a little taste, his expression just changed, and the food was then annilated!!! it was a shame when his digestive system started to fail in keeping up. he never had human food again after that happened. 



i will always remember him as the one i could talk to and he would give me his honest opinion. "Rusty, i'm not feeling well" "RUSTY GOOD CLEVER BOY, GIVE ME A KISSY" or "Does Rusty want to get the toy" "RUSTY BUSY, YOU GET IT"



rusty died peacefully in his sleep at 3:45pm on april 1st 2009. he was 14 years and 5 months old (72/73 in human years). 



he was buried in the back garden of his first home where he stayed for the majority of his life. i got him a wee silver plated jewellery box, attached a plate to it that said: 

IN LOVING MEMORY

RUSTY EXETER

1/12/1994 - 1/4/2009

TREASURED MEMORIES

He was buried next to his grandad's ashes, in a blue pot with a yellow rose that will hopefully bloom in summer.



i have so many memories of him that i will always cherish. i will miss him forever, he was the best childhood pet a girl could ask for.