*Mama! Baby!** Mama! Baby!*-Parrot alerts sitter to baby choking. Life saved.

[underpants]

Parrot awarded for yelling about choking baby

1 day ago

DENVER (AP) — A parrot that alerted his owner about a baby who was choking was recognized as a hero by the Red Cross. Willie the parrot was given the Animal Lifesaver Award during the "Breakfast of Champions" event attended by Gov. Bill Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Willie received the award Friday for his actions in November, when he and owner Megan Howard were baby-sitting a toddler. Willie repeatedly yelled "Mama, baby" when Howard went to the bathroom and the toddler started to choke on her breakfast.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1y4_C-CEf2O5mMV4uA19c96oJlAD973UN300

[Ilsa]

1. I read this story in our local newspaper. Really sweet. nt

[Ex Lurker]

14. WTF was the babysitter doing leaving the child unattended while eating?

great story, but it should never have happened.

[Ilsa]

16. Oh yeah, definitely. Maybe she was about to pee or something. The part about the

bird was sweet. I'm just glad the sitter knew what to do.

[wickerwoman]

2. That's amazing.

The parrot had to be able to put together that the baby making choking sounds was life threatening and that the mother would be able to help her.

[BootinUp]

3. I love these kind of animal hero stories

some day the human race will be more accepting of animals as intelligent beings in their own right.

[I Have A Dream]

4. How cool is that?!!!

:D

Big kick and recommend!

[Jackpine Radical]

5. There's an amazing book by Theodore X. Barber, PhD

called The Human Nature of Birds, in which he recounts a number of stories in which birds displayed humanlike intelligence. For those who recognize the name, yes, this is the same T.X. Barber who wrote so much about hypnosis.

[mix]

6. i love stories like that

nt

[RedCloud]

7. My parrot looks after the young too.

He even calls the dogs who almost always ignore him.

"Polly, Lucky, come here girls." "You want more time to think about it?" "Mommy, Polly won't listen!"

So I picked up a winter cough and he won't stop it...
"Do you really (cough, cough, cough) love me?"

But mine also roots for his ancestors:

Jurassic Park scene where kids hide under bed from T-Rex:
"Get up! Get up and be a player! Get up!"

And where people are trying to escape the raptors:

"Stop! Stop it! No running!"

So I definitely think they pick up on context that is important to them. My bird is an African Gray weighing in at a staggering 1 pound, 1 ounce. But he is not overweight, just larger than average.

[Richard D]

8. They are really smart

I've heard a lot of stories, especially about the grays, that make one say "wow".

[dflprincess]

18. The story I read about this a couple days ago said that these were words

the parrot had never used before (maybe this link does too, but I didn't check it).

If that's true, it's even more amazing.

[hlthe2b]

9. This story really made me smile...

I somehow missed it when it happened. God, we really underestimate the intelligence of animals. Thank you, Willie!

[underpants]

11. Check out this story about the Thai fireman in the Spider Man costume

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5321965&mesg_id=5321965

[hlthe2b]

12. Oh, yes...! I saw that this morning. What a great guy to do so.

;)

[tabbycat31]

10. amazing story

animals really do have a sense when someone's in danger.

[Kat45]

13. This is a great story.

I'm glad it's been getting attention because it lets people see how intelligent birds are.

[Gemini Cat]

15. Smart bird

Another great reason to respect animals.

[Neoma]

17. Mayor John Hickenlooper...

Hickenlooper, seriously?