Pets: Casper the friendly (crazy) budgie

Budgies in an aviary. Casper's colouring was close to the one on the second perch. Photo / Talia Parker

OPINION

Pets often make great companions, even if they drive you crazy at times.

They can also be very entertaining, as was the case with Casper.

Casper was a budgie and he was Mum’s pet. She chose the name after the cartoon ghost.

I feel safe in saying that Casper was a little bit nuts.

He didn’t sing, or talk – he would mostly chirp and babble, which was okay, but he loved to hear the radio.

My Dad had this old radio and every morning when he got up to get breakfast started, he would take the blanket off Casper’s cage and turn on the radio. He would even have to make sure the radio was going when he went out so Casper could hear it.

There was one particular song that really got Casper going – Poi E, by Patea Māori Club. I don’t know what it was about that song, but he would dance up and down his perch, using his whole body to bob up and down.

He was given a little cage ball with a bell in it. Casper would pick it up in his beak. Then he would walk up the ladder to his perch and throw the ball down before getting down and starting it all over again.

We also had a cat that was your typical cat, chasing after birds. I don’t know if she saw Casper as her natural enemy, but he didn’t take any of her nonsense. One day, Casper’s cage was on the table so it could be cleaned out and the cat got up on the table. Next thing we knew she had jumped down looking very affronted and we realised Casper had pecked her on the nose.

We did have one moment of terror in Casper’s 14 years. That was the day a big earthquake struck (May 1990). Mum had to go dashing from the lounge to the dining room to try to rescue Casper, as his cage was swinging so wildly we thought it would go flying. Casper was largely unfazed – he must have been around 10 then.

Budgies can apparently live up to 15 years, so 14 was pretty good.

So if a cat or dog is not your thing, how about a budgie?