My handsome boy Rainbow - how my heart aches to hold you one more
time. I miss you so very much and life has just not been the
same since you left. I loved you so much, and now I feel the
immense pain of losing you. We lived a wonderful life. I was blessed with
your presence for nearly 15 years. In a brief moment in time,
our eyes met. It was the beginning of an everlasting love and a
special bond. Even though you have gone to Rainbow Bridge, our
bond is not broken.

The day that we met, we had a long drive home. On the way home, I kept
wondering what to name you. Nothing came to mind as you were
so beautiful and so different. You had this lovely pastel
colouring, which would darken with time. You had the largest eyes that
sparkled.

The weather was uncertain that day. There were dark clouds with a few
rays of sunshine peeking through. Then, the rain gently fell, and
there appeared a rainbow. I recall that I looked at the rainbow
and then looked at you. That’s when I realized that nature
had provided me with the answer I was looking for. From that
moment forward, you were my lovely Rainbow.

We arrived home, and I set you up with everything that any bird could
ever ask for. Instead of that tiny cage you were in, you now
had a very large home. I outfitted it with all kinds of toys, foods,
and of course treats. I placed you next to Nikki, who welcomed you
with ease. At that time, our flock was quite large and you fit in
perfectly. I had worried that Nikki would be jealous, but that was neve
r the case. He grew to love you and you two would play together
almost every day.

In your younger years, you were so playful and so full of
mischief. Endless energy combined with your acrobatics, always
made me smile. When I would feel there was nothing to smile
about, you found a way. Your goofiness was appreciated so much in
those dark days. Your favourite antic was to hang upside down. You
even found a way to sleep upside down…until you, I never knew that
any bird could possibly get into the positions that you did.

When I would hold you and gaze into your eyes…you would look into
mine. In your eyes, I saw the purest love that you had for me. I hope
that in my eyes, you saw the same. Your love touched my heart
and soul and you helped me to become a better person. You
were a special companion with so much love to give, and I needed
you as much as you needed me.

We shared many private moments together when nothing else in the world
mattered. I would hold you, kiss you on your beak and cuddle
you. Every time I would kiss you on the beak, you would chirp and
bounce your head up and down…for more. You were such a
funny little bird. Rainbow, you brought so much love and joy into my
life and I will always have a space in my heart you.

While we cuddled, your favourite was to play with all of your toys. You
had so many toys that at times even I couldn’t find you
amongst them all. Since you’ve been gone, I’ve noticed that I have way
more Kleenex. Despite all of the toys you had, for some reason,
Kleenex was your favorite. It is just one of the funny things that made you
unique. Now, I no longer have to make weekly trips to the market for
Kleenex. I miss it more than one can imagine. Your other specialty
was to bang the gate of your cage…if I wasn’t paying
attention to you; you always found another louder way to get my
attention. Naturally, it always worked.

Peeper entered our lives a few months after you did and the two of you
were a comical pair. He was a tiny parrotlet baby. If not for your
love and attention Peeper would not have lived as full a life as he
did. I taught both of you tricks and you would do tricks at the
same time, always trying to compete with each other. You would chatter to
one another and were always up first in the morning. Peeper loved
to sleep, and he always went to bed early. You and Nikki would
take turns being on my shoulder. It became a nightly routine that
continued for several years.

As time pushed forward, we enjoyed life together…with our flock of 11. I
had a concert every single day. I reached a point where I was
doing great in college, great at my jobs, and I was happy – for a
time. Then, one day in 1997, Nikki became very ill. On January
17th, 1997, Nikki died, in my arms. Rainbow, you and Peeper, and
the rest of our birdie family became my lifeline. I continued on in
college and tried to be ‘normal’ when I was actually dying
inside. One day, everything I knew changed in an instant.

I boarded a plane with you and Peeper…and we came to our new home
in Canada. You and Peeper thrived and loved the environment. You
had scenery to look at and all kinds of birds outside
to look at and to chirp at. The two of you were happy, and that made
me happy.

Being a California bird, you loved your sun. You missed it a lot. It wasn’t
long before you fell in love with the halogen lamp. You would
bask in it every day as if it were real sunshine. Every day, without
fail, you were sitting under the lamp…and you always looked so
beautiful. All of your colours were so brilliant.

I remember and miss the way you used to preen my eyebrows and
eyelashes. You had this gentle side that was incredible. With that sharp
pointed beak, you loved me so gently. You loved to eat people
food, but it had to come from my plate. Your favorite special
treat food was pasta.

You would sit with me when I cried. You would notice that one tear slowly
falling down my cheek and you would kiss it away. When I cried
rivers of tears, you would lay your head down just below my chin and
you would get so soaked. Many times, you looked as if you had just
had a bath!

One day, you became ill and we have the good fortune of meeting
Ann. The vet that would come to play a large part in our lives in so
many ways. She was and still is the best vet I have ever had the
opportunity to meet. You healed from this illness and life returned
to normal once again.

Then, one day, Peeper became ill, and that is a story of its own. When
Peeper had to go to the hospital, you immediately
became depressed and stopped eating. The two of you had never been
apart, ever. Within days I noticed you were declining fast. The vet did
a lovely thing…she loaned me another lovebird, named Peaches…to
stay with you until Peeper could return home again.

Rainbow, you began to eat and Peaches kept you from feeling so alone
and depressed. I would cover the two of you together, and I
recall hearing you both ‘secretly eating’ and ‘secretly chatting’ every
night. If birds could manage to whisper, it would have been the
two of you.

Peeper improved and returned home from the hospital a short time
later. You were both so happy to be back together. Peeper became ill
again and I had to take him back to the vet hospital. We were very
lucky, the vet had kept Peaches and she would come home with us
yet again. Within days, Peeper had died and that’s when Peaches
became a permanent part of our lives.

The two of you became so in love with one another, over time. I was so
amazed as I never expected this. Peaches came with a one word
vocabulary, “Pretty Bird”, and that was a comfort because it
was also one of Nikki’s favorite words. Since Peaches was a girl bird,
the bond that developed was totally different. You and Peaches
were to become soul mates.

It took at least a year to be able to handle Peaches. She was so abused
that she bit all of the time. I worked and worked to gain her
trust and finally, I succeeded. Peaches became such a sweetie and
began to love freely. She loved me, but she really loved you
Rainbow. In time, the two of you would love to bathe together. As you got
older, you would let Peaches take a bath while you were
splashed. The lazy bather I used to call you.

During this transition, Ann gave me another lovebird that had ‘issues’. That
was LB. He was a broken hearted, scared, unhappy
little bird. I had not been looking to add to our family, it just
happened. Ann had once again, brought more happiness into our
world. As it turned out, you preferred being with Peaches…and I
encouraged it. If it was to make you both happy, that was fine with
me.

Between Peaches and LB I really had my hands full. LB’s wounds were as
deep as Peaches. I spent my time loving all three of you and
eventually we became a very happy family. For some reason, a family of
three was perfect. I would have daily concerts and I loved every
moment of it. While you and Peaches spent more and more time with
one another, LB became more attached to me. He became and
still is the cuddliest bird that I have ever had. This worked perfectly
for us all.

You loved to play toy game with Peaches. I think perhaps the funniest
thing is that Peaches wanted so badly to have babies. She gave you
every chance but you were always a gentleman. Honestly, you
were. The two of you would race up the four foot latter and you would
beat Peaches to the top. Then, she would tell you off until you
moved down one step. You would shred paper together and fight over
it. Peaches would put it in her tail feathers…and when she would, you
would wait, sneak over and take it out! She used to get so mad at
you!

I came later to believe you were just clueless in the baby making
department. Being the silly bird that you were, you would preen her
feet! This was hilarious because Peaches made it perfectly clear and
possible…yet, you only went for her feet. Peaches must have
wondered why you did this. Peaches became a very high maintenance
bird and laid many eggs…all of which were infertile. She brought us
so much happiness and the two of you became inseparable.

Peaches had an amazing ability to make nests. I would give her all kinds
of paper. In her lifetime, I counted at least 100 nests she made. In
reality, I think she even made more. Yet, you two never had babies. It
just wasn’t meant to be. You loved each other and were happy…as
soul mates are supposed to be.

In 2005, Peaches was diagnosed with cancer. During a routine check up,
the vet found a growth on her wing. The biopsy revealed it was
lymphoma sarcoma. The only option was surgery to extend your
life. I took a chance and went ahead with the surgery. I knew that losing
Peaches would have devastated you Rainbow…so I was willing
to try to save her life. Peaches had lived roughly another 6
months. They were good months. Full of happiness. I let the two of
you play together as much as possible. Cuddle together and just ‘be’
with one another. Then, one day, Peaches was very ill and we
took her to the vet once again.

How ironic that we would meet Lucy that same day. She looked exactly
like Peaches and even had some of her unique
characteristics. I remember looking at Lucy’s wings, spread out and
thinking how I would never see Peaches do that ever again. I cried so
much in the vet’s office, I just couldn’t help it. I was a mess, tired, and
worried all at the same time. Every time I would see a bird, wings
spread; I would break down and cry.

Peaches came home again, with us and that’s when her seizures
started. That’s when I noticed that she had a growth on her head. Things
were not looking good and I knew in my heart that her
time with us was now limited. Rainbow, you were my alarm whenever
Peaches needed help. I literally, would hold her and
breathe into her beak. This went on for months and I still treasured every
moment with her, as you did. Then, on the 27th of June,
2005….Peaches died at 4 a.m. I had held her over and over again, many
times, thinking she would pass in my arms, but it wasn’t meant
to be.

Once again, Ann came to the rescue. During the weeks that I waited for
Peaches to be cremated and returned to me, Lucy entered our
lives. I knew that Lucy could never replace Peaches, but I also
knew that you needed a girl birdie. Lucy filled our room with her
chattering, her antics and her fresh personality. Lucy also
needed very special care as she had deep seated issues that prevented
her from being happy. She was fearful most of the time, and you
helped her to trust me. I was happy that you found some comfort with
Lucy, but you never became close to her as you were to Peaches. You
had loved Peaches and there would be no
replacement. However, you seemed happy to have Lucy and also LB for
company. We were as happy as we could be.

Then, Rainbow, you became very ill. In hindsight, I think your grief over
losing Peaches was too much for you to take. On top of your
being depressed and lack of eating, you had ingested leather from
your favorite toy. It was a lot of matter that needed to come out
of your liver. You were making progress, and then something
unexpected happened. Out of nowhere, you started to have seizures
and with each passing day, they became worse and longer in
duration. We discovered that you had a brain tumour, most likely
cancerous because of the rapid decline in your health.

Several months went by. The routine of daily medication, special foods
and vitamins continued. Your last weeks of life were very hard. As did
Peaches, you started to have seizures. We put you on anti-
seizure meds and they did not work. Ironically, Lucy became your
alarm. She would pick up on something and she would call out
to me. Sure enough, I would get to you, and you would be having
another attack. Each day, the frequency of the seizures
increased. You lost your appetite and were not interested in doing
anything other than sitting in your lamp.

I did my best and I held you and cuddled you every chance I got. In all
the time I knew you, for 14 ½ years, you had never bit me. You
started to bite me. I would cry. I couldn’t believe you were suddenly
biting me and it hurt my feelings. Then, I realized that you
were biting out of pain. You felt awful, were in pain and I had to
accept this. I felt you distancing yourself from me. Yet, I spent as
much time loving you as possible. We gave you valium so at least
I know that you were more comfortable. The day before you died, I
had held you, literally, all night long. You had a particularly bad
seizure and I believed you would pass that night. As it turned out, you
passed shortly after.