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In Memory of
Jonny Rafiki, my Grey Friend.
September 1991 - October 23, 2001 (~9:30 p.m.)
I was studying
biology and particularly interested in animal behavior. I had been studying
about Dr. Pepperburgs African Grey, Alex, when spring break came. My friend
Larissa and I took a trip to Louisiana. A friend of hers lived in Dallas
Texas and she wanted to visit her on the return trip. Her friend had to
work part of the day that we were there so she directed us to a flea market
with a wide variety of things to buy.
We decided that that would be fun and were on our way. A few hours into
the excursion and we came across a portable pet store. It was full of
many varieties of animals including, to my surprise, African Grey Timnas.
I was very excited and surprised that they were only $150.00. I asked
why and found that they were wild caught. That made me even more adamant
that I had to have one to care for. And so it came to be that I had my
sweet, loving birdy boy. That was in February of 1992. They weren't sure
of his age but they new he wasn't more than 9 months old.
The veterinarians said that it would be at least a year before I'd be
able to hold him. He was stepping onto my hand within a week. He caught
a cold in May. He was such a good boy. He took his medicine so well. I
held the syringe of medicine to his mouth and he took hold of it and drank
it all up while I squeezed it in. I gave him boobs about a month later
because I was giving him peanuts all the time for treats. I took him to
the vet and she told me that he should only have one or two a day. I was
giving him at least ten a day (any time that I was trying to teach him
a word or trick). He learned fast. He was so smart.
It was September of that year, his tail changed to a maroon color near
the base and ended with the dark grey color. That always caught people's
attention. It was very unusual and beautiful. He started forming the word,
"Hello". I said it to him silly and he was learning it that
way so it sounded more like, "Elloh". I read that when their
tail color changes and they try to talk, it means that they are one year
old. So I decided to celebrate his birthday in September every year.
He loved the set up I made for him with a Lilac branch hanging from the
ceiling and a little ladder hanging from that to his cage. He would hang
upside down from the branch like a bat. I called him batboy. One day he
had been hanging upside down for awhile while I was studying. I just said,
"I see your butt" and he was visibly intrigued by those words
and the pitch that I had used them in. The next morning I woke up to him
saying, "I see your butt" . A whole sentence over night.
He loved any words that were said with the pitch going up and down. I
would just whistle nonsense but with different pitches. He LOVED it. He
always picked that kind of stuff up quick and would repeat it when he
really wanted my attention or just had energy to burn.
My sister, Stephie, would call him Rafrito. He liked that. We took to
calling him that last year because he would say it over and over. It was
so cute because he would say it in so many ways. He was really getting
into making up his own vocabulary. He was so smart and cute.
He loved to ride in the car. I have never seen an animal have so much
fun in a car. He'd sit on the passenger headrest and look out the windows.
When we were moving he'd spread his wings a little and nod his head up
and down. He'd whistle and try to say things. It was funny to see people's
reactions when they noticed that I had a bird in the car. He acted similarly
when we'd go bike riding, holding his wings out when we moved, like he
was flying but not having to work so hard.
He loved other animals. I had a cockatiel named Tika. I called her, "Baby
Tika". He was very gentle with her (probably because she was a she.
We had originally been told that she was a he and believe that because
Rafi has never gotten along with other male birds.). After it was her
time to go, he would call for her. He had never said, "Baby Tika"
until she was gone. I really believed that he missed her.
I have had many animals. He has loved them all. His first encounter with
another animal was my Russian Blue cat named Nuttin' Honey. He learned
to meow and loved to chase her. Later, I had a Doberman named Baron von
Yager, Baron for short. He learned how to bark but had a more difficult
time figuring out how to play with him. My dad and I made a really cool
perch toy for him out of heavy dowel rods and a bucket of cement. He would
hang from there and kiss Baron on the nose. I think Baron liked it more
than Rafi. Rafi even loved the horse I had named Timmy. We would go to
the stables together and he would sit on the stall door and watch while
I groomed Timmy. He would even kiss my horse on the nose. He loved kisses
and would nod his head in agreement if I asked him if he liked kisses.
I had a job, in Kansas City, taking care of people's animals in their
home when they went out of town. I would take him with me to break the
ice. It ALWAYS worked. I think he helped me connect to people in way that
I would not have been able to without him. I recently started my own in
home pet care business and was looking forward to the same experiences
but now I dedicate my pet care business to him, in honor of my sweet birdy
boy.
He was so good, so smart and loving. He put up with so much from my unstable
life. I was a mover and a shaker, always on my toes ready to try some
new adventure. Those adventures took me all over Kansas City, Missouri
and Kansas, and out to California. Birds do best in a stable environment
but maybe because he was on the move since he was tiny, having been taken
from his mother is Africa, it didn't bother him so much.
When I moved to California, circumstances made that I needed to find homes
in K.C. for Timmy, Baron and Honey. Thank God I was able to find them
all great homes. Rafi showed his sorrow once again by calling out to Baron
and meowing and searching the house for Honey whom he loved to have his
daily chase after.
Our trip to California was very interesting. My friends that I traveled
with wanted to stop at the Grand Canyon. I was hesitant because I had
my bird and could not (and would not) leave him in the car by himself.
Well, just as with anything else, he was great and all the people around
enjoyed seeing him. I even got a great picture of him on a bush with the
Grand Canyon in the background (which I can't find now =<). He quickly
made new friends in Lancaster California. Two dogs, or "puppy dog"
as Rafi would say, and a cat at my friend Joanna's house. The dogs, Shilo
and Kyla, would bark when put outside and Joanna would say, "Stop"
in a deep voice . Rafi loved this game. The dogs would bark and he'd say,
"Stop puppy dog. Stop Shilo", in the same deep voice as Joanne.
Kyla was a gentle dog and would go up to Rafis' cage and wait for him
to come down. They would kiss each other, Kyla licking Rafi and Rafi pushing
his beak against her in his birdy way. The cat was more of an outdoorsy
animal so we didn't see much of him but Joanna's toes were another story.
For some reason Rafi felt that those things needed to be taught a lesson
and he'd go after them anytime he saw them. From then on, if you didn't
wear at least your socks, you had to be careful. This past year, he even
took to my toes and I have a few scars to remember him by.
Another friend of mine, that's a bird lover too, gave me one of her birds.
Harley is a green cheeked Conure and a male. They would peck at each other,
demonstrate and protect their territory. Luckily, Harley is a tough domineering
type and Rafi came to respect him. They lived for 2 ½ years, comfortably
side by side. Harley could not talk like Rafi but he tries. The only thing
that I have been able to understand him say is, "Night night Birdy",
until last night. I think he was trying to say, "It's ok Rafi".
When I bought my Condo in Palmdale, everyone saw a new side to Rafi. He
became much more out spoken and curious. He would talk or whistle even
when I was in the room and he'd get off his cage and walk around the living
and dining room areas. When I brought home Georgy, my Russian Blue mix,
from the pound, Rafi was in heaven. He loved Georgy so much. He began
to meow again and would follow him around. When I moved to Canoga Park,
all of these actions intensified. He literally followed the cat everywhere
(including down to the litter box and would sit there and talk to my poor
George while he was trying to do his thing). Rafi would sleep by Georgy,
eat with Georgy and whenever he was out of site, he'd meow after him .
Georgy has been walking all over the house this morning looking around.
When I went to get some aspirin from the bathroom, he looked down the
stairs then back up at me as if to say, "Where's that bird that always
waits for me to come down?"
I can't stop crying. I can't stop thinking about what could have happened.
He was too curious and too smart for his own good. The vet said that he
shouldn't eat too much of the cats food and that leads me to believe that
he ate other things as well, possibly the cat litter. We put boxes and
boards up to keep him from going down there but he always figured a way
to get down to be with George. I even put up a barrier to keep him in
the dining area where his cage is but he always found the weak spots and
would push through. I witnessed this once, he was so determined and…..cuuute!
I am glad that I was able to hold him until the end. I saw him die. It
is so hard. My little boy is gone. He was more than a pet to me. He is
proof that animals are more than mindless creatures that just follow their
innate instincts. He had such a wonderful personality. If he didn't want
something, he'd shake his head, " no" . If he did, it was a
huge nod, "YES", especially for peanuts. He put up with a lot
from me. When he could take it, he would give a small, "just get
it over with" nod when I'd ask him for a hug. But he always wanted
kisses. He'd kiss complete strangers.
We went camping two weeks ago and brought Rafi along. He kissed Dan's
Aunt Ilene and Uncle Paul. He'd never met them before. It's funny how
he took to kisses but wanted to be scratched so bad yet was afraid of
hands. This is probably due to his capture in the rain forests of Africa.
He died so suddenly. It's just not fair. I couldn't find a vet that had
any experience with birds. We tried the emergency clinic anyway and were
just hoping that he'd hang on until 7 a.m. today. He never got the chance
to figure out how to say, "I am a walrus". He had, "Who
are you?" Down very well. He had the cute head turn and tilt, give
me a kiss and scratch my head, look down very well. He was so happy.
He gave me a few kisses and made some kiss noises while I held him near
the end but at the end he just relaxed in my arms and didn't really want
to be touched. I want my booby so bad, my little poo poo head.
Dan found a pretty metal box and put him in there for me. I added a few
more towels, his favorite treats, and we engraved his favorite toy, a
bell. It says, "My Jonny Rafiki. My grey friend. Sept. 1991 - Oct.23,
2001". He loved to ring it to get attention. Dan made me a plaque
for his grave with a big heart on it. It is so nice, I hesitated leaving
it for someone to steal or mess up.
His final resting-place is on Mt. Emma in Palmdale. We would look at it
together from my condo and I would tell him what it was like to hike it.
God I hope he knows how sorry I am, how much I love and miss him. I hope
that there really is a special place for animals. Maybe he is with his
mom, brothers and sisters right now, very happy to be reunited with them.
I also hope that I will get to see him again one day. Maybe he is with
baby Tika.
Mt.Emma,
Rafi's final resting-place.
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