Apparently, while I was traveling to New Orleans, Cynthia took the time to teach Dooley how to quack emphatically like a duck. And Dooley appears to REALLY enjoy quacking like a duck. In this video he not only quacks, he emulates my sneeze and makes the ring sounds of the phone we have now and a phone we had over 8 years ago.
Archive for the ‘Pets’ Category
Dooley The Parrot Slash Duck
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010Parrot Portrait Shoot
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
A slide show of some pictures I took of Dooley using the Minolta 100mm f/2 lens and the HVL-F58AM flash. I recommend the full screen option for optimal viewing.
Minolta 100mm f/2
Sunday, June 21st, 2009Just beginning to play with my recently acquired Minolta 100mm F/2. It’s an amazingly sharp lens and the IQ is on par with anything I have ever shot with. Considering this lens was made in 1987 it holds up well when used with the modern day digital Sony Alpha 700.
I would go so far as to say that this lens is easily as sharp wide open as my Sony Zeiss 135 f/1.8 is when stopped down to f/2.0. Similar in focal length (100mm vs 135mm) this lens is considerably smaller and more light weight. That means it’s easy to carry around in my small bag with a few other lenses where the Zeiss requires a bit more of a commitment to lugging around some heavy gear. A huge plus.
I can easily see this lens becoming one of my heavy rotational favorites, espeically for low light portrait work
Parrot Portrait
Monday, May 25th, 2009
Bird Angles
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
Fly High, Mr. Zippers
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Mr. Zippers passed away this afternoon after a heroic fight to cheat death which began back in July.
We thought he had made a full recovery, but he began to show signs to the contrary right after hurricane IKE. I suspect the stress of that event and the days that followed were probably too much for him.
We adopted Mr. Zippers in 1999. He came to be a beloved pet and member of our quirky little family. Ultimately, he was Cynthia’s bird. Mr. Zippers hated me and tried to bite me any chance he could.
Still, I loved that little guy.
We both did.
Mr. Zippers will be sorely missed.
Dooley Dooley Doo!
Friday, September 19th, 2008
As I was pondering our possible fate when IKE approached I considered a “worst case scenario” in where I was holding the pet carrier with Dooley cowering inside high above my head while the water rose up and destroyed my material possessions. I am glad that it did not come to that.
Birds Of A Feather
Friday, August 15th, 2008
A Spoon Full Of Sugar
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Part of the recovery process for Mr. Zippers is medication. Antibiotics and some vitamin and nutritional supplements…
Yes, those are syringes but there’s no injections. They just make it easier to administer the medicine which is given orally. Which, as you might imagine, has it’s challenges when it comes to a small green parrot.
The first step is to subdue the patient
Fortunately when Mr. Zippers is incapacitated in this manner he will bite just about anything that comes within beaking distance. Including a syringe full of medicine.
The Indestructable Mr. Zippers
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Last Sunday we noticed that Cynthia’s Quaker Parrot, Mr. Zippers, was acting strangely. He was not eating his favorite breakfast treats (Cheerios, or as we call them “Zippy-O’s”) and he was very lethargic.
His condition seemed to worsen as the day went on so I called the vet to see if they could see Mr. Zippers that day and they got us in around 3:00 pm.
The doctor on duty said that they would run some tests and keep the bird overnight. The next day the doctor called and said that the ultrasound showed his liver was abnormally large but detected nothing abnormal in his blood and fecal tests. He was still not eating and was being tube fed to make sure he stayed nourished.
I called Tuesday and the doctor said there was no real improvement but suggested they keep him for observation for a few days. She said it could be a tumor and that they could do a biopsy. I said “no thanks” as it seemed too extreme. I talked with Cynthia and we both agreed that Mr. Zippers should not suffer and she asked that I call the doctor to discuss options.
When I called on Wednesday there was a different doctor on duty and he sounded more optimistic. He said it looked like Mr. Zippers liver had shut down due to some event or another, but that he thought given a few days he might turn around but that there was no way to tell for sure.
I told the doctor to keep going and called Cynthia who by this point had resigned herself to the fact that Mr. Zippers was gone. I explained that I had not pulled the plug yet and gave her all the encouragement the doctor had given me.
On Thursday I called to check in and there was a THIRD doctor. She said that while she had not seen his condition previously that he did seem “feisty” and may have actually eaten a little food on his own. On top of that she indicated that Mr. Zippers managed to bite her pretty good. To me, this was very encouraging and when I told Cynthia that Mr. Zippers had bitten the doctor she smiled for the first time all week.
On Friday when I called again, the doctor from Wednesday who seemed so encouraging was back on duty and he said things seemed to be turning in Mr. Zippers favor and he thought we could pick the bird up on Sunday. He explained that while Mr. Zippers was not eating a whole lot, he was eating on his own and hoped that by sending him home he might get his appetite back.
We thought maybe we were just giving him too many fatty treats, but the doctor said he thought the diet was fine and that something just triggered a shutdown of his liver.
Well, we picked him up Sunday afternoon and the doctor explained the situation and they showed us how to administer the medicine he needed and sent us home. When we took Mr. Zippers from the pet carrier and put him in his cage he fluttered his tail quite happily and proceeded to eat a Zippy-O.
As of now, he seems fine. I think he definitely cheated death and so does Cynthia. In fact, Cynthia wrote a poem commemorating the experience:
Zippy we thought you was a gonner
And that you was gonna die
But ya screwed up all your courage
And you beaked death in the eye!
Sounds a bit like a Rudyard Kipling poem, what with the colloquial styling and all. At any rate we are happy to have Mr. Zippers back home. A bit poorer, but happy. Dooley also seems happy to have his friend to talk to.
