Harley was a Umbrella Cockatoo that came to my wife and I over ten years ago. He was given to us due to his former owners being allergic to him. It was a slow introduction to Harley and myself as he would not allow me to pick him up with a nice strong bite. With time and patience that all changed and he would sit in my lap cuddle making little baby bird sounds. He would sit with me for as long as I would allow. He also loved music of all types and would bob up and down, swing his head and try and imitate the sound of the music.

He would greet us when we came home with "Hey Buddy" over and over get so excited to see us. Eventually he began to try and bark like our dogs whenever they barked and this inadvertently led to his death. His cage is located under a big bay window so he had a nice view of outside and beside my computer where we would talk to each other while I read my emails and had coffee in the mornings. Tomorrow morning will be hard indeed as my feathered friend will not be there to keep me company. 

Tonight I came home and my wife was at her computer in the same room. An hour prior to this I had given him fresh water and food. As I came through the door my wife yelled at me something was wrong with Harley. I looked and he was on the floor of the cage making an odd noise. I opened the cage door and he his feet was firmly holding onto the bars of the floor. His beak was locked around one of the bars as well. I got his feet loose and him out of the cage within about fifteen seconds. He was semi-limp and a small amount of water drained from his mouth. I realized he was choking. I began to tilt his head and use gravity to try and get whatever was stuck out rubbed his croup and my wife began to pump his wings to stimulate breathing. 

A large amount of water and partially chewed seed did come out but he had quit breathing and was now totally limp. We continued to try and stimulate him in desperation. 

Tomorrow I have the grim task of burying my beloved bird. As I write this I'm sitting beside a empty and quiet cage. I'm used to birdy babble or him clanging his toys it is eerily silent. 

I will bury him under the bay window where he has lived these past ten years. The hardest part of all of this is that it wasn't a sickness but a totally freak accident. My wife feels as I came through the door our dogs barked. Harley was sitting on his perch drinking water after eating and when he heard the dogs barked he attempted to do the same inhaling seed and became choked. 

Its easy to think what if I had come through that door ten seconds later when he had fully swallowed his food? Perhaps if I had gotten his feet free a few seconds quicker? But it was a freak accident that there are no answers too. 

So where do I go from here? He can't be replaced though I do own a second Umbrella and love him just as much but Harley was my first and the most affectionate. 

I can't stand the thought of his cage not being in that window and can't stand the thought of it being empty either. So now the search begins to find not a replacement but another bird that I can give the love that I gave to Harley. I'm trying through adoptions as I don't want to buy from a breeder. But there are no local bird adoption centers in our area and the ones I have found disqualify me due to my location. 

Either way Harley will be extremely missed every morning when I drink coffee, every time I come home and there is no "Hey Buddy" being heard from his room. But he will not be forgotten!!!

Gods speed to you my feathered friend and may you find plenty of nuts and seeds in heaven and I know you will greet all the pets up there with the sound of "Hey Buddy"!