KC and Gator

By Brian Cochran

When I was a senior in high school, I wanted a fourth bird and decided on a green cheek conure. We drove down to Dallas, Texas from Fort Smith, Arkansas to meet his breeder in front of K-mart to see the ones she had.

I petted the first one until it moved away from me so I started petting another one and that was when KC came home with me. It was January 15, 2000.

When we started our 4-6 hour drive home, it was the beginning of our friendship together. I decided I wanted to name my conure KC. KC was pretty nippy when I got him but I had got this conure chat group to help me.

As KC got to know me, his nipping decreased, although he would still have streaks of it from time to time. I was the person he tolerated the most. During the next half year, I got KC to say Hello, Nite Nite, smack, click, and make squeaking sounds after my closet door.

He would be cupped up in my hand with his back on my chest when I carried him around the house as it would keep him from pooping around. When he was around 7-8 mos. old, he started to hang from my fingers. Sometimes when we watched TV together, I would have a paper towel on my lap to catch the poop. If it was clean, I would lay him on it and he would turn the paper towel over on him as it he was going to take a nap.

He came to Nebraska with me once and Vicki A and her son Jordan had an opportunity to meet him. I am glad they did.

I went to Florida to see my cousin and saw a Nanday in the store and figured I might want one. I wanted one for awhile. Vicki A had two red throated conures and needed a home for one of them.

I had asked Mom for one of them before and she said no. Even though I thought of a Nanday, I still had that one red throat in my mind and talked to Mom about it. She finally agreed to let me ask Vicki if Gator could be mine and she readily agreed.

On August 14, Gator became mine when Vicki A, Jordan, Yoshi the half-moon and the Red Throats came to Lincoln, NE where my relatives live. I thought it was cool to own a rare bird. :)

Gator must have came into my life for a very special reason instead of just any other conure. The day after I got Gator, while we were still away from home, Mom received a phone call at the table while we were talking.

She told me she had some bad news and then my heart began to beat fast afraid of what she might say. When she said the words, "KC is dead", I started crying loudly at the table and ran into the basement to be alone. I was really shaken by what I just heard. I bawled and shook, not wanting to believe that KC was really gone.

He was only 9 months old and the best pet I had ever had. I was upset at the fact also that Gator and KC would never be friends as I hoped they would be. It was hard on me in the beginning. Having Gator there with me for the rest of the trip helped me a bit although when I got home and saw KC's cage was not in my room, I started crying again. It took me some time to accept that he was gone and we'll never really know why he died. Having Gator there with me and getting to know her really helped me a great deal. After awhile, things were getting better as Gator and I started a friendship.

One reason that Gator is special to me is that she came into my life when I needed her. Although Gator has her bad moments, she is a special bird to me and I love her very much.

I still miss KC today very much and will always miss him. I think of KC very often and wonder how he would have turned out to be if he had lived. He probably would have gone to Nebraska with me next year. He was the best pet I ever had in my life and a great friend to me.

That's how Gator and KC came into my life.