Seeds of love grow behind bird story

I'm not sure how it happened, but I've become the unofficial beat reporter for local animal news.

I was there when Tank, the runaway African spur thigh tortoise, was reunited with the Hirchak family in Highland.

I took notes as Schererville Cpl. Michael Vode explained how he fashioned a lasso from string, and rescued ducklings that fell in a stormwater drain as they tried to cross U.S. 41.

And there was chirping in the background when I called Maria Werner about the newborn sparrow she was nursing back to health in a basket she carried everywhere.

Then there's Snowball. He is a medium sulfur-crested Eleonora cockatoo. And he dances.

I met Snowball in fall of 2007 at his home near the Schererville/Dyer border. My assignment was to write about a dancing bird that was becoming an Internet sensation because he dances to a Backstreet Boys song.

Snowball's owner, Irena Schulz, who is founder and president of Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, invited me and Times photographer/videographer Christopher Smith to watch Snowball in action.

We stood among cages of rescued birds that squawked at us a bit at first. Most of them, we learned, came to the sanctuary when their owners could no longer care for them. They need attention, and those in their "teenage" years are similar to teenage humans. They're finicky and can be difficult, Irena explained.

I watched Irena pet Snowball along his yellow crest and white feathers. She spoke sweetly to him.

That's when I realized this story is about more than a dancing bird. It's about patience, love, care and sacrifice.

I wondered how Irena and Chuck could ever go on vacation, how they could have a life of their own when it centered around the birds' needs and what happens to the birds when some day the Schulz family no longer can care for them.

Sure, Snowball's fame has drawn attention to the sanctuary, benefiting all of the birds there. But Irena and Chuck didn't know when they took in the teenage cockatoo that he was a be-bopping bird. They didn't know he'd wind up doing a stupid pet trick on the set of "Late Show with David Letterman" or that scientists would take an interest in what makes him move like that.

All they knew was he was a bird in need and they had room in their "nest."

When Snowball's owners no longer could care for him, they gave him to Irena, handed her a CD and said to watch what happens when Snowball hears it.

We've seen the bird dance. Now let's take a cue from his caretakers.

Vanessa Renderman covers Tri-Town for The Times. You can reach her at vanessa.renderman@nwi.com