Hi everyone!
My pet is a bird... a free wild bird with all the world to call his own. I call him Fred.
Yes, Fred is a seagull and you may wonder how a seagull can be a pet, but he is certainly that for me. In my eyes he is very elegant and beautiful and I hope you can see this too. I have tons of photos of him and one is even my computer screen-saver.
While Fred is free to come and go, he is always a constant companion on the deck of my condo whenever I spend time at the lake. While there are many seagulls around, Fred is unique. Seagulls are known as scavengers and most of the people I know don't like them much. I have always liked seagulls. Not your run-of-the-mill animal companion to be sure. Fred does not beg for food, but simply visits. I never give him food either as I figure he is well look-after by the fish in the lake.
He sits on the deck railing or sometimes on the patio table for hours and just listens to all my jibberish. please understand that as a rule I don't talk to birds. Fred is different. He has me chattering away to him as though I were visiting with a human. I tell him about my hopes and dreams, concerns and fears. Guess I think of Fred as my own version of Johnathan Livingston Seagull. I've always loved this book by Richard Bach and the spirit of always continuing to do better. Having Fred as a pet (a non-captive) makes me very happy. We have developed an unusual but very neat relationship. I'm sure you'd agree that we pet people are a strange breed.
Fred stays around at the lake condo for as long as I'm there. If I wake up late at night and look out on the deck he is there. I feel that he is looking after me in a way... sort of stading guard while also being company. He's there each morning too.
I love to watch him glide around during the day when he needs to stretch. I just love this beautiful bird who is part of my heart. He represents real freedom, grace and strength to me. So while I usually call him Fred, I think of him as "Freedom Fred".
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