A Feathered Charm: A Brief Autobiography - Part II, by Kiwi Salazar

Luis had visited Gary Denolf several times in the Spring of 2004. Luis was looking to get part-time work at "Tiffany's on Whyte" so that he could work with birds. Gary had not committed the first two times but on the third time, in May, Gary announced that he was going away on vacation and was going to need some extra help while he was away. Luis was delighted.

Gary showed him around the shop. This and that, and that and this... The shop is a bohemian dreamland. "Tiffany's" carries the widest selection of colorful, eccentric stuff in town- everything from antique jewelry, to vintage signs and movie paraphernalia, to neon signs, to furniture, and whatever else fits through the front or back doors. Folks are always enchanted when they walk into "Tiffany's". Then they hear all the whistling and chirpping that goes on in the back and they fall in love with what "Tiffany's" is really all about: birds. This is precisely what happened to Luis.

Luis was introduced to the lovely Dorina- Gary's loyal employee and the hardest working lady in town. Dorina was busy- hard at work dusting and putting things in order as the shop had only up until recently been opened on the beautiful Whyte Avenue. Dorina deserved all the credit for getting us all in tip-top shape. Luis couldn't wait to get to work.

Luis walked over to my cage and Gary says, "This is Kiwi, a Quaker. He's a nice little bird but a bit temperamental." Ha! You would be too if you were locked up in a cage.

"Why is he so cheap," Luis asked. Ransom was set at $500.00.
"He's a secondhand bird," Gary said. "He belonged to a family but they sold him to me a few weeks ago."
"Why did they let him go?"
"They said he was saying bad words to the kids and couldn't stop him. An uncle taught him some Davey Jones talk and he has a dirty little beak."

I looked out at Luis and hissed and pecked at the cage. Who says I have a dirty beak? I'll bite him!

"Wow, he sure is mad," Luis remarked.

Lovely first impression...


During the next two months Luis would clean a lot of bird cages, sweep tons of seed husks off the floor and darn nearly get his finger pecked off by me and every locked up parrot in the shop. Ha! That's what he gets for locking us up! One day a young lady walked in with a friend. She was looking to buy a Lineolated Parrotlet. Luis had none for sale but he showed her about the place selling her all sorts of chew toys and food supplies. That's why Cliff called him "TROUBLE" - always flirting with the girls, he was. Anyway, she walked over to my cage, peered in and I said a few words to charm her a wee bit. She walked away shocked and appalled! What did I say, for Pete's sake?

"I think that bird just called me stupid," she went over and told Luis. He laughed outloud. I could hear him crisply from the other side of the store. Grrrr...
"You're lucky," he replied. "He could have called you much worse." The next time Luis came over to change my water I got him right in the Abductor Indicis - "Ow!" Served him right.

One day, out of the blue, Gary returned. Luis took him on the tour of the clutter-free "Tiffany's on Whyte". Dorina and Luis had finished cleaning the shop and it looked fantastic. Luis walked him into the aviary and strolling over to me, pulls my cage off it's hook.

"And how is Kiwi doing?"
"He's still as mad as ever," Luis replied. "He got me right here in the nook of the hand the other day. That is one grouchy little bird."
"He's not grouchy- he just needs to be let out every once in a while. Watch..." With that he opens my cage door, I walked out, climbed onto the top of the cage and said as brightly as I could, "step up!"
"Yeah," Gary said. "He's hand tamed. He loves attention. He just needs to be let out."
"What??? You mean Dorina and I have suffered that little beak for nothing? All he needed was to be let out? But you told me that he was mean."
"Did I? Must have been another bird 'cause Kiwi is a sweety. Try picking him up."
"Step up, Kiwi," Luis said and like an old friend cozing up to another friend, up I went. Like a feathered charm, Luis fell in love with me right there on the spot. I've been on his finger, on his shoulder, and in his home every since. Luis worked off my ransom (he got me for only $300.00 - staff discount) and after only six working days I got to go home to Salazar Manor.

That is how Luis and I met almost three years ago.

"Step up!"