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As many of our regular message board readers and chat attendees know, I agreed to foster Angel, a female Umbrella Cockatoo, for 6 months to indefinitely. She has been with my family, now, for four months. I can safely say this bird has personality plus.

On the first night she came to us, we had a black out for several hours. Unfortunately, this caused her to have some night frights. Let's face it, who wouldn't be frightened? A house filled with raucous boys, a whole bunch of birds you don't know, and then sudden darkness can be a frightening experience.

The stress didn't end there. Two weeks later we learned we were moving to a house. The packing started, boxes piling up. From past experiences, I always try to keep the boxes out of site from the birds. That isn't always easy. Moving day came, and the birds moved into the new house. Angel started in one of the boys' room, and then moved into my bedroom next to Ingrid. She wasn't very happy in either room. So she moved into the little birds' room, where she has been quite content.

Typical of cockatoos, Angel likes to chew things up. So far, she has left the woodwork alone. Instead, she prefers TV remotes, phone buttons and lines, Nintendo(tm) and Play Station(tm) game pads, much to the boys' dismay. She gets much enjoyment chasing us up and down the stairs. The boys have now banned her from the downstairs room after she chewed through five different game pads. You would have thought they would learn to pick the game pads up off the floor.

Angel knows how to open her cage. This little feat keeps us on our toes. We must always be aware of where Angel is and what she is doing. One of the first things she learned in the new house was how to climb the drawers to reach the kitchen counter. Once she reaches the counter, she opens the top drawer, pulls out all my wooden spoons, and chews them up. She now has her own wooden spoons, but these aren't as much fun. You could say all the fun is gone having your own wooden spoons.

Another one of her joys is chasing the little dog around the house. Fluffy is none too happy having her tail chomped on by a cockatoo beak. Angel runs, with her wings slightly spread, after Fluffy who tries to hide under chairs, between my legs, or behind the toilet in the bathrooms. Fluffy has learned that Angel won't go into the bathroom after her. The boys and I get such a kick watching Angel "on the run," it is quite a site. The first few times we watched "bird chases dog," we laughed so hard that tears were rolling down our faces.

One last thing Angel has recently learned is how to make calls on my cell phone. I must say, she is an extremely intelligent bird. So far, there are no long distance calls. Let's hope it stays that way.

Angel is constantly eating, and eats well. She will eat all manners of vegetables and fruits, hard cheeses on occasion, and pellets. With her high energy level, it has been difficult keeping her weight up. She's weighed every morning, before breakfast, and has been averaging 490 grams for the past 6 weeks. She has put on some weight since being with us, although I wish she would put on some more. She's recently agreed to eat a limited number of nuts, Brazil nuts only, please.

Social graces are high on her list of good actions. Angel will go to anyone, anytime, any place. People and especially attention from those people are always welcome. She is on her best behavior when we have friends over. Our lives have not been the same since her arrival. Two months left before we find out her fate...will she remain with our flock or will she return to her owner. No matter what happens, Angel has touched our lives in a way that will not be forgotten.