Oliver Grey Vannoy was born on March 16, 2016. And his parents were very careful to introduce him to the rest of the family the day he got home.
Gotcha and his sister Letty, an African grey have an Instagram following in the tens of thousands, so you’d better believe that the moment when the birds and Oliver met for the first time was a milestone. In fact, the video they posted a few weeks later has more than 800,000 views!
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First, we see baby Oliver with his loving parents.
Then we’re introduced to Gotcha, who is in his cage patiently waiting to be let out.
And as his mom (hey, she calls him “baby”) carries him across the room and over to the couch where Oliver is sleeping, the bird senses something is up and gives a side-eye to the couch.
What’s that lump?
Once they get a little closer, it’s hard not to let out a little laugh at Gotcha, who seems to be looking at his mom and thinking “OMG, what did you do?!”
When she asks Gotcha “what do ya think of that?” as Oliver is fast asleep, the bird takes a good look.
As he looks away, we’re willing to be Gotcha is thinking the same thing we are – “what do you expect, lady?” But to be fair, things could definitely be going worse.
Now it’s Letty’s turn to meet Oliver as dad brings her over to the soundly sleeping newborn.
She’s a lot less aware that there’s something new in the room (or else she’s already wondering when it will go away).
Letty gives Oliver a good look and then looks back at dad as if to say “if I can’t eat it or play with it, what is its purpose?”
So it’s safe to say the birds don’t care much.
But there’s another member of the household who is going to be curious – a pit bull named Kobi. In fact, the moment mom opens the basement door he explodes into the kitchen, already sensing something interesting is going on.
And he immediately sniffs out the baby.
Unlike the birds, Kobi needs to spend some time inspecting his new roommate.
All of the sudden as Kobi is shuffled away for being a little too excited, a Yorkshire terrier pops in (how many animals live here?!). His name is Turbo and he basically gives Oliver a 5 out of 10.
A good sniff and then he’s done and ready to play with his real toys.
As the baby makes noise, Kobi is really the only one that cares.
He gives Oliver an 11/10 because dogs just love everything.
And while mom invites Gotcha – who is clearly the star of this family show – back into the frame, the bird is still pretty blase about the baby. He’ll look, he’ll feign some mild curiosity, but he also seems willing to let Kobi claim him for himself.
It is amazing to see two dogs and two birds get along so well though!
In scene two, Oliver is all wrapped up in bed and Gotcha is getting another chance to warm up to him.
And at least this time he looks a little more curious – perhaps because he realized the kid is there to stay and apparently has the run of the house.
At least when Letty’s back she gives him a good once-over.
The family got to do it all over again when baby Zoi was born in 2019. And that time, Gotcha seemed to pick up on the potential excitement of having a new baby in the house.
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It’s awesome to see a big family getting along and parents making sure their animals are still well cared for when new babies come along.
Be sure to scroll down below if you want to see baby Oliver’s introduction to the family.
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