The first, second, and third owners..

It was 1997 and I was going through a divorce.  Not wanting to be at my house, I was at my Mom’s – A LOT.  She had just acquired a Grey from basically a friend of a friend type thing.  The bird was named Forrest and as the story goes, “he” use to belong to a couple (Houston & Tori) before my mom had Forrest.  The couple would fight and Tori would throw things at the cage as an attempted to get back at the Houston.  Houston, who no doubt loved Forrest greatly, had purchased Forrest at the pet store where he worked.  The bird had “taught” a customer’s teenagers how to cuss and was returned to the store.  With on-going fights between the young couple Forrest’s vocabulary grew even more and from the sound of it, so did the fights.  Soon Houston was looking for a new home for the young bird and ended up at my Mom’s house.

A window of opportunity..

My family has always been one that trades things, a couch for a dining room table.  A hutch for a cd player and when someone comes across something that they really wanted, the trade was documented in writing.  A few years prior I had purchased a used truck that Mom had found.  It was one of those situations where I had the money available and she needed a vehicle.  I didn’t think much more about it until she mentioned that she was selling it to a guy she worked with.  It was then that I had the perfect opportunity to offer up a trade.  I reminded Mom that I had purchased the truck.  She made me the offer I was looking for… I told Forrest to “step-up”, packed up the cage, and we went to my new apartment.  It was a rather rushed decision.  Forrest rode the 30 mile trip perched on the headrest behind me. 

Time for a change..

Not knowing much about parrots myself I started checking out websites to learn more about Greys.  There was a special micro-chipping event taking place in my general area.  I'd read that most birds that do get outside are actually found but it's hard to find the bird's owners since you never really know how far away the bird got.  Plus, let's face it.  Most Congo Greys really do look the same.  This just seemed like a really good idea for those just in case situations.  Also, the name Forrest never sat well with me and although the bird was loud and vocal, she seemed more female rather than male.  Not having extra funds to have her DNA tested, I decided to pick a gender neutral name.. such as Baby.