Dusty Draper

In Loving Memory of Dusty

March 15, 1996 – September 9, 2026

It is with broken hearts that we say goodbye to our beloved Dusty, who passed away on September 9, 2026, at the age of 30.

Dusty came into our family when he was just a tiny baby, before he had real feathers and before he could even eat on his own. Mom hand-fed him and cared for him until he was big enough to eat by himself. From those very first days, Dusty became much more than a bird—he became family.

Dusty honestly believed he was human. And, to us, he was.

He was especially devoted to his sister, Candice. The two of them were inseparable. Dusty followed Candice everywhere throughout the house, making sure she was never out of his sight. Privacy was simply not an option when Dusty was around. If Candice ever dared to shut him out of a room, he would loudly chirp at the door while tapping his beak against it, making absolutely certain she knew he was waiting for her.

Dusty had a personality all his own and knew exactly how to make everyone smile. You could make him happy at almost any time by simply showing him a hand towel or wiggling your sock-covered toes in front of him. Those little things brought him so much joy.

His love of material started when he was just a baby. He would sit on a little rag while he ate and was cleaned up afterward, and that simple comfort grew into a lifelong fascination with anything made of material. It became one of the many little quirks that made Dusty so wonderfully unique.

And then there was Dusty's mind. He was absolutely mind-blowing—an incredibly smart bird with an enormous vocabulary and a personality that could fill an entire room. He loved to talk up a storm and had many things to say. One of his most familiar phrases was, "He's a good birdy!" And he certainly was.

Dusty brought laughter, companionship, mischief, and an incredible amount of love into our home for 30 wonderful years. It is hard to explain to someone who didn't know him just how much a little bird could become such a huge part of a family.

The truth is, everyone in the house probably had just a little bit more love for Dusty than we had for each other. He had a way of making himself the center of our world without even trying.

He was loved beyond words, and his absence will leave a space in our home and in our hearts that can never truly be filled.

Dusty wasn't just our bird.

He was our baby.
He was our family.
He was our comedian, our companion, our little shadow, and one of the brightest personalities we have ever known.

For 30 years, he gave us his trust, his love, his laughter, and his voice.

And now, our home will never sound quite the same without him.

Fly free, Dusty. You were a very good birdy.
You will be loved and missed forever. ❤️