Dixie Lost - but only for an hour

[rbpittman]

Dixie is fully flighted and usually just fly's around my office with no problems. Today however, she decided that while I was eyebrow deep in a book she would fly off the back of my chair and onto the rope that makes my office door. No big deal, she plays there all the time. After several scoldings about the door trim she got quiet - you know that quiet that is really strange. So I look up to see what she's doing and she's gone.

 

Immediately the book goes down, I remove Beau from my shoulder and slide on my shoes to look for her. No Dixie. I'm now crawling on the floor of my office - did she go behind the chair? No Dixie. Out to the mud room (adjoins to my office) - NO DIXIE. I'm calling - no sound. I'm looking - no bird. I'm beginning to panic.

 

Into the living room I go - looking up and looking down. She's not visiting Sterling, she's not hanging from the drapes, she's not clinging to a ceiling fan (all off thank God). Through the kitchen, down the hall way, into my bedroom, checking the bathroom (even looked behind the toilet). NO DIXIE. I went through the house three times. I'm the only person home, there's no way she could have gotten outside. Now the dogs are starting to bark, where is Dixie. I'm back tracking, looking behind the sofa, the entertainment center, on top of the entertainment center (I had to get a chair!). I really am losing my mind, how did this happen, she couldn't have gone outside. I've spent 30 minutes going through this house looking for Dixie.

 

Now I call my daughter - come home quick, I can't find Dixie. She and I start looking through the house, each taking a room. Under the beds are checked, behind the drapes, behind the furniture, in the closets (which were closed to begin with!) and in the shower's. How does this bird do this? I'm finally in the kitchen and about to lose it. I've opened and closed cabinets, looked on shelves and in the trashcan. No clothes hamper has been left untossed. Where on earth did she go. As I sit in the chair to gather my wits I look up on top of the refrigerator (there is a large bowl there) and low and behold there pops up the head of Dixie. She has found my stash of almonds and banana chips!

 

She wasn't lost, she was in Vegas and hit the jackpot! All the calling and looking and frantic movement drowned out the sound of Dixie enjoying a very healthy snack (even if it was a bit much). I imagine the dogs barking kept her head low (or maybe it was the almonds). I said "There you are, you had me scared to death!" her only reply "Yes" and quickly stepped up. She is now happily sitting on her perch, being unusually quiet again, but I know exactly where she is.

[chelseaB]

Wow! I can understand how frantic you must have become to search & not find her anywhere!! Glad this turned out ok, she probably was having great fun up there in your stash!!

[Ray P]

I bet there arn`t too many grey owners that havent gone through that I know I have. And all the time we were looking she was watching us. What a snot.

[Luvparrots]

Now that Dixie is safe and sound this is very funny!!!!!! True it wasn't at first but now the humor can seep in. Bad Dixie, I hope you don't get a bellyache you little stinker!!!!!

[Barbara2]

I had one that was similar but scarier. I was at work and my adult daughter called and told me that she had come to the house to work-out. She came in and found the Senegal cage tipped over, Senegal was no where to be seen and feathers everywhere! I sped home (10 minutes from work) and searched and could not find the Senegal. I looked (almost) everywhere! I called hubby to tell him that the Senegal had been killed by the dog. At that point in his mind, the dog was going to be rehomed (or killed...he was SO mad...this bird LOVES him!) While I was on the phone, I saw our little Sennie behind a cabinet in our family room shaking like a leaf! I rescued him and put him back in his cage and moved his cage and the Hahn's cage to the living room away from the dogs. That day I ordered a "can't be knocked over by the dogs" duplex cage for the two birds to live in. It was scary, scary! Just typing it now brings back bad memories!

[katana600]

If only we could fit our greys with a "cat bell" so they couldn't pull a Houdini on us. It must have been such a relief to find her.

[djohnson]

I read this and got more antsy for you just imagining your panic. I sighed a huge sigh of relief after you said she found her. As my T-bird was say, "Phew".

[Lambert58]

Whrew! LOL! I went through this with one of my GCCs. He had burrowed in between two of the couch cushions and was quite content to call it his cave. Took 20 minutes to finally locate his little feathered butt.

[judygram]

So glad this story had a happy ending and thanks so much for including the wording "but only for an hour" in the title for without it I might have had a heart attack when I first saw it.

Wow Barbara that would have been my guess when seeing the overturned cage that my bird was killed by the dog but glad your little sennie got himself out of harm's way.

[danmcq]

Man Robin, what a way to get you anxiety raised about 10 bars! I love the ending, this a great story with a funny ending.

[Mawnee]

Great story. Thanks for sharing

[reggieroo]

Got to the bit about the head popping up from the almond bowl & burst out laughing........what a funny story, thanks for sharing.