06/07/2024
Samantha (Sammeeee)
Samantha, my Gold Capped Conure, (Sammeeee is how she said her name) was my first pet and an amazing little girl. I knew nothing about parrots when I got Sammeeee, but we learned quickly together. When Sammeeee was a baby I would turn off the lights and sit by her cage and tell her "Night night, love you." These were Sammmeeee's first words. Sammeeee and I hung out together a lot, I never watched TV, a movie or YouTube without her cuddling on my chest. Sammeeee learned tricks that we took to schools, boy scouts groups and about any other event we were invited to. I have a globe I would ask Sammeeee, "Where did you come from?" She would spin the globe until she found Brazil and would put her foot on it and tell the kids, "I came from right here." In reality Sammeeee came from Odgen, UT yet she knew the color on the globe to impress the kids into believing she knew where Brazil is. I would hear the doorbell and going to the door I would realize it was Sammeeee mimicing the doorbell. The microwave would sound and yup, it was Sammeeee. The smoke alarm would sound multiple times a day and we learned fairly quickly to ignore it as it was Sammeeee. Sammeeee would call the dogs and they would come running to me believing I had called them. Sammeeee hatched on September 11, 1998 and passed away May 21, 2024. When I posted on my Conure page that Sammeeee was gone everyone was so surprised she had an amazingly long lifespan. On May 21, 2024 I was gone most of the day and came home to Sammeeee under the paper on the bottom of her cage which isn't unusual as this time of the year is breeding season and Sammeeee didn't care that she didn't have a mate, she would make a nest with the paper in her cage. I took Sammeeee from her cage to cuddle and immediately knew something was wrong. I knew at her age there was nothing the vet could do so Sammeeee and I cuddled on the couch for almost three hours. She reached her beak to me several times for kisses. As she was getting weaker she reached up for one last kiss, said "Night night, love you," and closed her eyes for the last time. Sammmeeee's first words as a juvenile and last words to me were, "Night night, love you." Sammeeee, night night, love you; until we meet again.