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Linda Tarte .

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Blame It On Rhea....

With their formidable beaks and attitudes, parrots and geese can make intimidating pets.  So imagine owning a rambunctious bird that stands six-feet tall. Cheryl McAtee’s ostrich-like South American rhea named Myrhea thankfully had a pleasant personality (as long as Cheryl was careful to dress in gray). He loved to pluck blueberries from her hand. Cheryl tells Bob about raising Myrhea from an 18-inch-tall youngster and watching him grow a half-an-inch a day. She talks about his humming song, mating dance, and fear of airplanes, plus other charming peculiarities. She also discusses Tomi, an affable cat she found injured on her farm who turned out to be fifty-percent bobcat, and who guarded her family like a watchdog.