October 12, 1999, was a very sad day for us, but especially for Mom. Zeus, one of Mom's favorite birds,
flew out of our motorhome while we were vacationing in the Tahoe National Forest near Truckee.
It was a beautiful day, and I guess Zeus just wanted to see what was outside.
Something scared him while he was on a perch in the front part of the motorhome.
He jumped on to the dashboard. Mom went to get him, but just right before she held tight on to his feet,
Daddy opened the front door and Zeus flew out. Poor Zeus, he didn't know what he was getting into.
Mom immediately chased after him and spent hours searching and calling for him.
That afternoon, we finally saw him sitting on a branch of a real tall tree, too tall for any of us to reach.
So Mom just called and called his name. Zeus was scared, I could tell, because he kept calling and calling
Mom to get him, but Mom couldn't. Mom even went back to the motorhome to get Little Grey (Zeus' best buddy)
to see if this wouldn't make Zeus come down from the tree. That didn't work.
Mom felt she had to do something, Zeus was so close, but he wouldn't come down off of that stupid tree.
She started to toss some pinecones at Zeus. Oh, no, that only scared him, and he flew away.
Mom grabbed my leash, and we both ran off in the direction that Zeus was flying.
I could see him up there flying away. Where did he think he was going? He should stop fooling around and
come back down to Mom. It was way after lunch time so he must have been hungry. I know I was! We walked
for hours. I was getting pretty dizzy with my head up looking at the sky so long. Not Mom, she just kept
looking and calling Zeus' name. Where was that dumb bird? Didn't he know Mom was worried and real scared for him.
He could get lost or something. My feet were hurting and I was hungry. Mom had a little bit of cheese and water,
and gave me some. I could tell it was getting late because it was getting dark. Poor Zeus, he would be so
cold and hungry. He's used to a nice warm house with plenty of good food to eat. Mom even heats up our room
in the winter when it gets too cold. The birds have never been outside in the dark before. Zeus, where are you?
Things weren't looking well at all. Mom was crying and calling to Zeus, but he didn't answer.
Good thing I was there to keep Mom company.
I wanted to help her, but all I could do was lick her face.
Mom was so upset she didn't even want to play with me. I could always get her to play just by jumping
around and nudging her with my nose. Not this time though. It was getting dark and we had
to go back in to eat dinner and check on everyone else. Daddy was in the motorhome, but he wouldn't
know what to do about dinner. That was Mom's job. She knew just what we liked to eat.
After dinner Mom and Dad went out looking for Zeus again. She didn't even take me along this time.
So I stayed inside, keeping an eye out on the other birds to make sure they didn't do the same
stupid thing Zeus did. Birds like to explore and sometimes the little lovebirds lift up their
windows and doors and try to get out. Mom made sure this wouldn't happen again after the last time
when Annie got out and almost got eaten up by Heidi. Mom just happened to walk by and saw Annie on
the floor. It was dark in the motorhome and it was moving, and Mom was in her seat.
Something made Mom get up, and then she noticed Annie on the floor with her feathers wet.
I think Heidi tried to get her. Annie sure was lucky because if Mom hadn't found her just
when she did, she would have been history. So, just to be on the safe side, I checked
everyone's cage to make sure they were all OK. Afterall, Mom left me in charge.
I wanted everything to be just fine when she got back. Maybe they'll come back with Zeus. Maybe he's tired of flying by now and wants to come home. Maybe.
Mom and Dad just walked in, and there was no Zeus. Mom started to sob real loud by now.
Daddy just held her and didn't say anything. I could see now was NOT the time to bother Mom,
so I just got on the couch and waited. I do that a lot. Sometimes when I don't know what I should do,
and I don't want to get into trouble, I just lay down and wait for Mom to come over and sit down next to me.
Then everything's all right again. She's good at that. She comes over and makes things OK again.
Then it's treat time and play time. But not tonight... Mom and Dad just went to bed.
Mom was so upset she didn't even put me in the crate to sleep and didn't object when I quietly
sneaked up on her side of the bed and stayed there all night. Poor Mom, she didn't even sleep at all.
I could feel her moving around all night, tossing and turning. I didn't get any sleep either.
I wondered where Zeus was sleeping tonight.
When morning came, Mom got up to go out again. She got some snacks together, and off we went again.
She and I walked around the forest calling for Zeus for a long time, for miles it seems, but there was
no sign of Zeus. Mom was afraid that Zeus did not survive the night in the cold. Just as we were
heading back for the camper, we heard Zeus in the distance. Mom and I were running around circling
each tree to see where Zeus was. We could hear him, but could not see him. Mom's eyes are not that good,
and me, well, every tree looks the same to me, and how would I know where Zeus was? We decided to
go get Daddy. When we all got back to the area where we heard Zeus, we couldn't hear him anymore.
We called and searched for a long time again. Then, we heard Zeus calling again. Mom and Dad knew
just exactly what tree to look at. They were saying what good was it to see him if he couldn't come down.
Pretty soon, Zeus flew away again. This time we didn't follow. We had to leave because Mom and Dad had to
be somewhere back home. We started for home. Everyone was so quiet. No one said a word as we drove away
from the mountains, away from the forest, away from where Zeus was. Zeus, where are you?
That night just a few hours after we got home, Mom and Dad decided to take another trip again.
We packed everything back into the moving house. Maybe it was too sad to stay at home. I saw Mom cry
again when she saw Zeus' big old empty cage. Little Grey made sounds just like Zeus would.
He must have missed Zeus too. All the birds were unusually quiet after that. Anyway, off we went again.
Mom didn't even ask me where I wanted to go. It didn't matter though, because it's always fun to go on
vacation. We drove all night. By morning we were back at the same forest again. Would Zeus be there
this time? Mom and Dad brought Zeus' big cage from home, and they set it up with food and water
near where we last saw Zeus. Mom and I searched around calling Zeus again. Dad had to do something
back at the motorhome. He had to find a hardware store, because in his hurry to come back to the forest,
he forgot to put away the electric cord to the motorhome, and it broke.
Anyway, Mom and I went walking and calling Zeus. Some nice ladies from the Forest Service
came over and talked to Mom. They gave her some special glasses to help Mom find Zeus better.
We walked until our feet were hurting so much, but this time we never saw Zeus.
We didn't even hear him call back. We went back to his cage to see if he had shown up,
but he hadn't. We waited around the cage for a long time. Mom brought Rachel and Heidi out so
they could walk around a bit. We continued to search a few more days, but we never saw Zeus again.
Why was he staying away for so long? Didn't he know we loved him and wanted him to come
back? At least Mom did. Me, I don't get attached to birds, just to Rachel, my buddy.
If only Zeus could see what he was doing to Mom. She didn't eat or sleep.
She didn't even want to play with ME! He's ruining my life. What a dumb bird.
Here's a picture of Zeus in case you see him.
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