This is a story about two pet cockatoos named Todi and Quincey. Todi was acquired in South Bend, Indiana and was a well known pet at Mr. Friendly’s Pet Shop in South Bend. She was so sweet and when the author first met her she knew from the start she was in love. Todi has been a special pet for years…almost 30 years. Her adventures start in a 3 person household when she was brought home as a pet around the Easter time of year in 1980. She did tricks and talked. It was pure love for the pet owners, as she did scream loudly, as a typical cockatoo does.

She acquired a brother Quincey Vincent Cockatoo, from an Amish household in Goshen, Indiana. He turned out to be the mean one in the family, as he did not have a sweet nature but he did love women, only women. He grew to hate men and other pets as well. But he becomes a hero when he chases a burglar away.

Quincey’s trip to the bird show shows how birds are like children and do not always behave. He embarrassed the family when he was taken to a bird show to perform and show off his feathers. He decided he would not perform.

This is a story about two pet cockatoos named Todi and Quincey. Todi was acquired in South Bend, Indiana and was a well known pet at Mr. Friendly’s Pet Shop in South Bend. She was so sweet and when the author first met her she knew from the start she was in love. Todi has been a special pet for years…almost 30 years. Her adventures start in a 3 person household when she was brought home as a pet around the Easter time of year in 1980. She did tricks and talked. It was pure love for the pet owners, as she did scream loudly, as a typical cockatoo does.

She acquired a brother Quincey Vincent Cockatoo, from an Amish household in Goshen, Indiana. He turned out to be the mean one in the family, as he did not have a sweet nature but he did love women, only women. He grew to hate men and other pets as well. But he becomes a hero when he chases a burglar away.

Quincey’s trip to the bird show shows how birds are like children and do not always behave. He embarrassed the family when he was taken to a bird show to perform and show off his feathers. He decided he would not perform.

This is a story about two pet cockatoos named Todi and Quincey. Todi was acquired in South Bend, Indiana and was a well known pet at Mr. Friendly’s Pet Shop in South Bend. She was so sweet and when the author first met her she knew from the start she was in love. Todi has been a special pet for years…almost 30 years. Her adventures start in a 3 person household when she was brought home as a pet around the Easter time of year in 1980. She did tricks and talked. It was pure love for the pet owners, as she did scream loudly, as a typical cockatoo does.

She acquired a brother Quincey Vincent Cockatoo, from an Amish household in Goshen, Indiana. He turned out to be the mean one in the family, as he did not have a sweet nature but he did love women, only women. He grew to hate men and other pets as well. But he becomes a hero when he chases a burglar away.

Quincey’s trip to the bird show shows how birds are like children and do not always behave. He embarrassed the family when he was taken to a bird show to perform and show off his feathers. He decided he would not perform.

: My Crow, Hoppy is the author’s memoirs of events which occurred over fifty years ago with her pet bird. Although Hoppy’s sojourn in her life was brief, he introduced her to boundless joys and wonders.

Crows are often maligned, thought to be worthless nuisances. Sometimes they are even considered to be omens of evil or bad luck. Also, they are often a favorite target of farmers’ shotguns. The author’s goal in writing this story is to come to the defense of these amazing birds, because she believes they are the most intelligent, imaginative, mischievous, comical and affectionate creatures on the planet.

This true story will enchant readers because it is brief, entertaining and reveals many fascinating crow facts. In less than 60 pages, My Crow, Hoppy not only skirts the conflicts of growing up and Man versus Nature, but creates smiles as Hoppy’s astonishing antics unfold.

This wondrous bird came into her life during her twelfth year. The first chapter describes how lonely and boring life was before Hoppy. Next, she reveals how he was captured and tamed. Then, several chapters depict dozens of fun adventures which they share during that magical summer. For example, the readers will learn how Hoppy rode all over town on her bike handles. Also, they will see him swimming in his own private pool, helping with chores such as pulling weeds, playing hide-n-seek with shiny objects, sun tanning in the back yard, and inventing new games like crow-ball.

However, all was not fun and games with this mischievous bird. As the summer progressed, his pranks stirred up much trouble. The reader will learn how he stole the neighbors’ belongings, rang their door bells, and tormented the neighborhood children and pets.

The month of August was filled with many challenges. Hoppy became gravely ill from contact with DDT and almost died. However, due to the author’s loving care, he recovered--only to get into worse trouble. When school restarted, he was beside himself with boredom. Thus, his mischief-making got out of hand. He even annoyed the local golfers by stealing their balls in the midst of their golf games. He snatched the neighbor’s clothes pins off the lines, causing their clean wash to fall down to the ground. Many people were behind paying their bills because Hoppy opened their mail boxes and flew off with the contents.

What follows is an example episode:

Much to our dismay, summer vacation was about to end, and Hoppy would find himself alone much of the time. As a result, this mischievous bird soon began to get into all sorts of trouble. On the first day of school he attempted to follow me. My inseparable friend had watched me walk to the bus stop, where he perched high in the trees across the street. He tried to interrupt this early morning meeting with my schoolmates with jealous caws. Then, just as the bus pulled up, it began to rain. We all boarded quickly to get out of the downpour. Before the bus began to move, the lady driver started to scream in terror! I pushed my way forward to see what was happening. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hoppy was swinging back and forth on the outside of the windshield on the wipers! He had attached himself with his claws and was hanging on for dear-life, swishing to and fro on high-speed! I guess he thought he was going to go to school with me one way or another. Anyway, he rode the wipers for many minutes, like a cowboy in a rodeo. The kids cheered with glee, while the terrified driver continued to holler. Needless to say, we were late for school. Rumor has it that the novice bus driver quit her job the next day, which must be so because we never saw her again.

By late fall, the whole neighborhood was up in arms over his escalating misdeeds. So, they reported Hoppy to the authorities, who determined that this devilish bird’s owners would have to put a stop to his disturbing the peace or they would have to capture him and take him away or destroy him. So, the author lost her magical friend.

As in most coming of age tales, childhood innocence was over shadowed by disappointment. Thus this tale ends with the author’s contemplation of whether these events resulted in a mistrust of humanity that has haunted her into adulthood. However, as she declares in the introduction: Although you may dislike sad stories, please read on…for you will not only be disappointed, but also delighted.