A Budgie Named Pete

KJ was on my boat Saturday. KJ, a confirmed lifelong bachelor, became engaged a few weeks ago. He recently moved in with his girlfriend in Parkdale. Disturbingly KJ has all but abandoned his cat at his condo in Midtown. While sitting on the boat KJ confessed that he had not fed his cat since the previous Tuesday. Though he did say that he left extra food for the critter. He was looking for a responsible person to take ownership of the cat. His girlfriend, while tolerant of KJ's eccentricities, was less fond of the kitten.  

While I have no intention of taking in the cat I was reminded of an even less responsible pet owner. For her own safety I'm going to employ a pseudonym in place of her real name. Let's call her Maria Hernandez, an attractive South American lady, with a much younger sister named Hanna. Maria and Hanna had a budgie named Pete. The usually chirpy Pete became silent over the course of a couple of weeks. The normally flighty Pete never left his perch, which eventually drew the attention of the equally flighty girls. After close observation and gentle poking of Pete with a stick, it became apparent that Petey had passed away. He died rather painfully of starvation and neglect. 

Our Maria who is an otherwise hardworking, studious lady of impeccable Colombian stock and saintly parents, has a dubious record of animal ownership. She has raised constrictor snakes and other venomous creatures. I recall a time when she lost one of her snakes for two weeks. When I suggested that a monkey would be an ideal pet, Maria volunteered that she would be a responsible monkey babysitter. I'm not sure I will buy a monkey, but I'm certain that if I did I would not subject the monkey to any prolonged stay with Maria. It would be traumatic if I returned from vacation only to find that "Little Jimmy" was deprived of basic daily sustenance by a distracted Maria, worried only about her own petty extravagances and excessive grooming.

Let's just say that some people are not ideal pet owners. I would put Maria and KJ in that category.