Ellensburg icon Buddy the grey parrot died after a short illness on Aug. 24 at age 41. Her memorial service was held by Brookside Funeral & Crematory last Sunday, Sept. 29. Ellensburg Pet Center had been Buddy’s home since 1984. The store’s original owner, Mike Meyers, bought 1-year-old wild-caught Buddy during the store’s move to downtown Ellensburg one year after the it’s opening in 1983. In 2004, Daria and Randy Wheeler bought the store from Meyers and have owned it ever since.
During Buddy’s memorial service, Randy Wheeler told some of his favorite stories about her, ranging from college kids teaching her curse words, Buddy repeatedly asking him for a peanut until she got one, her refusing to eat unpeeled grapes and her wolf-whistling at customers, to the point where they thought Randy Wheeler was doing it himself.
“Buddy became Buddy because of everyone here,” Randy Wheeler said. According to Randy Wheeler, Buddy got her name from the customers greeting the store’s original owner, Meyers, and calling him buddy. From there, Buddy picked up her own name. Buddy’s final resting place is a mahogany urn, as she was wild-caught in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and mahogany is native to DRC as well.
“When we bought the store, we bought it from Mike, you know he had to do inventory of everything,” Randy Wheeler said, “so, fish tanks, office chairs, bird. She was just listed as bird. She came as inventory for the store.”
After living in downtown Ellensburg for her whole life, Buddy was a local celebrity. “Our grandson’s ukulele teacher, who’s also his kindergarten teacher, Kyle Bain, he’s a local musician here,” Daria Wheeler said, “We were talking to him the other day and he said, ‘Oh my God. She’s the same bird from when I was a kid.’” Locals saw Buddy as a piece of their personal history, as well as the history of the town.
“We became aware, even though she was our pet, of how incredibly powerful she could be for the store as a tool for advertisement,” Daria Wheeler said. This local fame was furthered when Daria Wheeler started Buddy’s Facebook page, Buddy Says. According to Daria Wheeler, Buddy Says even reached fans from Sweden who traveled to Ellensburg just to see Buddy.
Because Buddy Says had gained so much popularity, Ellensburg Pet Center was able to consistently donate to local charities. Referencing connectivity, Daria Wheeler said, “I think she changed the pet store in the same way that the whole world has been altered by Facebook.”
Her memory goes far beyond her existence in the store and her presence on Facebook. Buddy was well loved by the community. “Everybody fell so in love with having her there,” Daria Wheeler said, “She was a great companion. She was fun, especially if you were by yourself in the store. She hated being ignored.”
To preserve Buddy’s memory, Ellensburg Pet Center and Brookside Funeral Home & Crematory are both going to have Buddy benches unveiled on Oct. 15, what would have been Buddy’s 42nd birthday and what is the store’s 41st anniversary. There will be an event at Ellensburg Pet Center that day as well, where community members can honor Buddy.
