It’s happened again. Another seizure, another rescue in trouble. It’s easy for all of us to point fingers and make judgements. It’s wonderful to sit back with our two or three birds or whatever sized flock we can comfortably handle, proclaiming our disgust and feeling fear for the latest flock that was hauled away in beige boxes.

We somehow feel better that our houses are cleaner, our cages are relatively immaculate. We make snap judgements as to the intentions of the people who I truly think meant well. But then, somewhere along the line, something went wrong. Well, what happened? What went wrong? How did things get out of control? I don’t know. And you probably don’t know either.

The latest seizure was at Wings Over the Rainbow, (WOTR) a bird rescue located in Moraine, Ohio. Moraine is right outside of Dayton.  Ohio again. Once again I don’t have the entire story. Once again, I’ll probably never really know how things went down and how it all fell apart. Here is the story according to the Humane Society:

More than 100 Birds Rescued from Alleged Cruelty and Neglect in Ohio

There is a followup story claiming that WOTR is going to fight to get the birds back.

Bird Rescue Vows to Battle Back

Okay, that’s what is being reported. But what happened? How did it come down to this? In cases like this, we never really know. It’s like this dirty little secret that gets hauled out into the light of day for a brief moment so that reporters and newscasters can get their shots. The birds are shuttled off and that’s usually the last of the story unless there’s a fight in the courts or cruelty charges are made. What I want to know is, where did all of this begin?

Not quite a year ago, I wrote a post about the Troy, Ohio Birds, a hideous case of neglect that hit the papers and the internet like a feathered tsunami. The case got convoluted and to this day, I have absolutely no idea whatever happened in the end. I get different stories and different opinions, but I never did find out out what happened at the end of the pageant. I don’t know what happened to the Miami Valley Bird Club, their rescue efforts or the disposition of the case.

I did a little digging around and with a little help from some highly respected people in the field, I got some answers as to what this hoarding and neglect deal is all about.

 It’s sometimes called Institutional Hoarding. Someone decides they want to run a rescue. They do the proper things, (or not) getting registered with a 501(c)3 non-profit status, (or not) slap up a website, (or not) and they’re in business. Good intentions. Well meaning. They want to save the animals.

Jezebelle Francesca, my friend Sandy’s adopted dog

Now if you think about it, the people who get into this have probably seen their share of neglect and abuse already or they wouldn’t be getting into the field. This of course gives them a bad opinion of human beings in general. After seeing some of the situations dogs, cats and birds are put in, one can’t help but have a low opinion of some people.

However, in order to run an adoption and rescue, you have to put this aside and trust that there are people out there who can provide a good home. I mean, isn’t that the entire point of the adoption and rescue? To place animals in suitable homes? This is where it gets crappy. Some rescues have standards that are simply too high and they have too many conditions potential families have to meet in order to qualify.

It’s as if the rescue is trying to find reasons not to place their charges. They simply make it too difficult to adopt. And of course this defeats the entire purpose. A family wants a cat or dog or bird and they have to endure the Spanish Inquisition in order to adopt. Many people will end up “failing” the third degree they are put through.

So what does the family do? They buy from a breeder or a pet store. Don’t read me wrong. I’m big on screening and applications and qualifying. But good God, this is an animal that needs a home. Set aside the attachment and let the animal have a home for Christ’s sake! I know it’s hard, but that’s the job.

Jacque Johnson, the Manager of the Parrot Garden at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah has this to say about Institutional Hoarding:

Jacque Johnson of Best Friends Photo courtesy of Jacque Johnson

“People in animal rescue have hoarding tendencies. We have caregiving personalities and if we get in too deep, it is easy to let the heart overwhelm our heads and resources. Slowly, over time, we make consessions to husbandry, diet, and medical care that would never have been even considered previously. We “normalize” sub-standard care. Good rescues battle this tendency in themselves constantly. We are aware that we have limits and set them well in advance. We become adept at saying “no” even when our hearts want to say “yes.” And most of all, we battle the self-serving concept that no one else is able to care for our birds. Hoarders put up hoops for adopters to jump through that make it impossible for them to meet the expectations. We don’t want to send our kids into substandard situations, but we must never forget that a family is always better than a rescue. We are an orphanage…and we need to want to get our kids adopted.”

Charlie on the left with King O. Photo courtesy of Best Friends Parrot Garden

So the issue is that the very people who want to help, see the neglect, see the abuse and get gun-shy about placing these animals because they’re afraid it will happen again. I know of one Cockatoo that Best Friends had in residence while I was out there. The sweetest, cutest little girl. But she was a self-mutilator and had to wear a bib to keep from drilling into her own chest. Well, despite everyone’s personal feelings about Charlee and their attachment to her, she got a home. Charlee was adopted out because as Jacque says, “A family is always better than a rescue.” Everyone loved her but they set their personal feelings aside and Charlee went home. Now that’s how you run a rescue.

Apparently, in a hoarding situation, over time, standards are relaxed. A little bit, day-by-day, things get a little worse, a little messier. More animals are brought in, with no animals going out. It sneaks up on the person or institution. It doesn’t happen overnight. Things go from bad to worse, and the caregiver or team running the rodeo become completely overwhelmed and rundown. According to the  National Center for Prosecution of Animal Abuse (NCPAA) the type of hoarder is broken down into three categories: The Exploiter, The Rescue Hoarder and the Overwhelmed Caregiver. But what exactly is a hoarder? How do you define it? According to the NCPAA, it’s this:

“Someone who accumulates a large number of animals: Fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care And fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation and even death) or the environment, (severe overcrowding, extremely unsanitary conditions) or the negative effect of the collection on their own heath and well-being and on that of other household members.”

 -Dr. Gary Patronek in Public Health Reports (114), 1999     

 

I got back from the D.C. area after an incredible time last weekend with the Phoenix Landing Organization. A little background is called for here:

I’ve known Ann Brooks since 2005 when we both attended the Natural Encounters Companion Parrot Training Class, or “Birdy Boot Camp” as I called it.  Ann’s a tad on the quiet side and I was sick as a dog having come down with some truly heinous bug I picked up from some guy who coughed on me on the way back from Haiti. Despite my feeling like ten miles of bad road and due to Ann’s ability to put up with this virus monster sitting next to her for days on end, we got along just great. I just had a feeling that she was going to accomplish something amazing. And I was right.

Ann has a fascinating background. Ask her sometime time about drinking Norwegian Glogg somewhere near the North Pole. I found Ann introspective, shrewd, extremely dedicated and very, very sharp.  Ann knew that she wanted to work with birds and well, she did it. And that’s a pretty tall order.

We managed to maintain a cyberspace relationship through the years and I would help Phoenix Landing as much as I possibly could. Being the southernmost outpost of PL didn’t give me much opportunity to help, but I did what I could here and there. I wish I could have done more, and hope to do more in the future.

Not long ago, she asked me if I wanted to do a presentation on Chop for the January Phoenix Landing get together. “Sure! Why not?” was my response.

So this past weekend, I flew up there with my “Got Chop?” T-shirt and hopped around in my “5 seasons-ago Non-Prada  boots” talking about Chop. Please forgive some of the photos, but when you’re talking and someone shoots your photo, invariably a few are going to make you look like a goldfish:

I made a slide show for you about the event.

Behold:

Needless to say, I had a blast! I haven’t had that much fun since traveling to Raleigh Durham to do my Chop Presentation for the Raleigh Durham Caged Bird Society.

The people I got to meet and the new friends I made was amazing. And I also got to meet people I’ve known on the internet and finally got to meet in person! Here’s Eileen:

And here’s Melissa!

I also met a ton more people I knew here and there and also got to see people I already knew, so it was just a wonderful gathering. We talked, we had lunch, we made plans…it was all good. (Vicky:”Up the stairs and to the right.” Is that correct?)

If you live in the area of D.C. or Virginia, or are around the Ashville, North Carolina area, you should really get involved with this non-profit. It’s a great group of people and they are making a HUGE impact on thousands of people and thousands of parrots. They are smart, savvy, incredibly well versed in applied behavior analysis, all things parrot and above all, they get the job done.

And it’s not about a lot of sitting around talking about their birds. They bring in speakers, organize projects and are proactive in the community with education about aviculture, training, adoption and of course they help people who are in need of assistance.

Please join these people for their wonderful warmth, their love of birds and their dedication to adoption, education and the welfare of birds. We can all learn from them. I loved my visit to Phoenix Landing and hope to come back soon. You can visit the Phoenix Landing website here. Just click on the PL logo. And if you can, please get involved. It’ll make you a better person. And I know that from experience.

Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

Marc Johnson heads up Foster Parrots, an adoption, education, sanctuary and rescue organization located in Rockland, Massachusetts. I’ve known about Foster Parrots for years, but I didn’t meet Marc until about two years ago. Marc and Foster Parrots were featured in a PBS show, “Scientific Frontiers” with Alan Alda in 2002. You can see that clip from “Pet Tech,” here:

Since then, he has been extremely generous in rendering opinions, supplying me with quotes for articles and occasionally commenting here at the blog.

One of the birds at Foster Parrots- Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

In the past, I have done an interview of a sort with people in the industry in a format that is a diversion from your usual direct question format. Rather than ask people a direct question, I simply ask them to “finish the sentence.” I send them the first few words of a statement and it’s up to the individual to finish it anyway they like.

This gives the interviewee great leeway as to what they want to say. Here is Irena Schulz’s “Finish the Sentence Interview.”

A “Dynamic Duo” at Foster Parrots- Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

It looks easy, but it’s not. Jacqueline Johnson who heads up the Best Friends Parrot Garden wrote to me after finishing her “Finish the Sentence” interview, “That was not easy to do. It’s much harder than you would think it would be!” Here is Jacque Johnson’s Interview.

So suffice it to say, I’m always pleased when these come back as well written as they are because it’s not a walk in the park. Anyway, here is Marc’s version of “Finish the Sentence:”

********************************

1.) I never thought… I would find a cause that would not allow me to turn away or just let someone else handle.

Pearl, a Foster Parrots Amazon- Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

2.) Most days at work… I wish I could do more for the parrots in our care and I guess I will not ever be truly happy although I am proud of what we have done at Foster Parrots.

3.) My best ideas… involve a tropical island. Seriously, (and not wishing to sound too big headed about this one) I think we have been so far ahead of the “curve” on many issues concerning parrots that my best ideas were not taken seriously.

4.) What I’d like to see… seems to be happening a little at a time, much more slowly than I would have liked but I do see a general acceptance of things like NOT selling unweaned baby parrots, strict adoption rules and a general public that understands the complexity and intelligence issues that make keeping parrots difficult at best, perhaps cruel at worst

5.) The most interesting… thing I have done is the Guyana project. Once a year I get to go to the rainforests of Guyana and although it has been a difficult road (one that I could never have imagined) it has been the fulfillment of every child’s dream….

Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

6.) If I had the opportunity to be on David Letterman… I would present the top ten reasons NOT to have a parrot as a pet… #10. You should get a parrot if you enjoy having surgery performed on your face at home…(me… three times!)

7.) When I meet… really smart people I know you don’t have to be a doctor to understand what really matters on this earth.

8.) It’s all about… not having any regrets… I have a few… but then again, too few to mention?

Henry and Oliver : Photo courtesy of Foster Parrots Ltd.

9.) Sometimes your gut tells you… really stupid things. I have learned to analyze the hell out of everything I do….

10.) I’ve never regretted… the course the last 20 years has taken me on but I am getting old and tired now.

You can support Foster Parrots by simply ordering a T-shirt here. Click on the image to order:

 First, you’re horrified. You can’t believe what you’re seeing. It’s like watching a traffic accident. Then, you cry. Finally, you get really angry. I’m talking really pissed off. In the past week I have heard of two hoarding situations in the last week in which dozens and dozens of birds were kept in deplorable conditions and required outside assistance and funding to try to make everything right. What in God’s name is going on here and what started this? What the hell? Who’s bright idea was it to get a bunch of birds, cram them in cages and try and keep up with the resulting mess? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s us.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the people who are responsible for these tragedies are indeed members of the avian community. They may be the Wicked Step-Mother, the “Jerky Brother-in-Law” or even the Columbine Killers of our community, but they are indeed “Keepers of Birds.” If that’s what you want to call it.

I can hear some people thinking, “Oh, no they’re not! I would never end up like that! That’s just awful!”

Yes, it is awful.  And I’ll bet that when these people got their first bird,they never imagined the environment would end up like this: 

Or this: 

I refuse to believe that the people responsible for this unholy hoard of hell meant for this to happen. But it did. And now that it did, they refuse to give up the birds, and want the relinquished birds back. I don’t know how this makes any sense, but that’s what has been related to me.

 ”There but for the grace of God go I.” I’m not big on religious imagery but it’s fitting.

The difference in this particular mess is the fact that this guy set these birds up to breed. Obviously things didn’t work out too well for him.  What he ended up with was heinous, and hideous. But he didn’t see it. He couldn’t see it, because if he could, he never would have let it get in this condition.

Many would ask, “Where was his family?”

I can’t answer that.

“Where were his friends?”

I can’t answer that one either.

All I know is that now that the cavalry has arrived, it has become a fight. The Troy, Ohio homeowner is furious and wants the birds he signed over, returned to him. Why? He didn’t feed them, didn’t take care of them, and now he wants them back? Bite me. I’m sorry, but I don’t even think this is a bowl of water anymore. It’s a bowl of pathogens:

It reminds me of the news story I read a while back about how Michael Vick asked to have a dog for his family. He was kidding, right?

I always have the same thing go through my mind whenever I see crap like this: What did those birds ever do to deserve that? Nothing. They are innocent victims of this Avian Auschwitz. It simply slays me. The twisted part of this entire situation is that I’m afraid the law is probably going to be on his side. I’m all for the rights of the individual. But not when it gives him license to kill. The Miami Valley Rescue is a young and new rescue on the scene. They’re probably going to need to get an attorney now and fight the man responsible for this mess.

My first instinct is to run my boney rear end up there and help. But it’s a standoff right now and it seems that the Humane Officer wants to give the Breeder two weeks to “clean up the premises.” 

Umm, no. First of all, the birds remaining won’t last two weeks in those conditions. And how in the hell are you going to clean this up in two weeks? And how would you do this with 80 birds flying loose in there? The chemicals needed to clean this trash heap up would probably kill them. They probably have respiratory issues due to inhaling all the crap in the air as it is.

 Something else really honks me off: If these were dogs or cats, they would have been out of there weeks ago.

So, I’m doing what I can to help those already involved. I’m trying to get the word out and get people to donate through Pay Pal and some of the generous retailers who posted replies on my previous post. But the case is still in a state of flux: The Humane Officer will not release the birds but it is clear that these birds are going to need Vet work and testing.

Kim Seitzs of the Miami Valley Bird Rescue has set up their Pay Pal account to handle the cost of the Vet visits, once this entire debacle plays out. There are going to be big costs for those plates used for cultures, medications, outside lab work etc. Go to Pay Pal and search this email address to donate for Vet costs:

kseitz63@frontier.com 

While the case is still in a state of flux, the media has its nose in the wind and are beginning to get interested in this case. Once pressure has been put on the local authorities, we might see some movement. Right now, it seems to me that the family involved has become defensive. Fine. But these photos are indefensible.

I’m a big believer in education. And I’m a huge believer in information. But I’m not sure there is redemption underneath all of this chaos.

I did a rather unusual interview with Bird Lovers Only Founder, Irena Schulz a few weeks ago. I sent her a series of phrases that were the beginning of a statement. All she had to do was finish the sentence. Irena was a trooper and despite the fact that it’s harder than it looks, she finished all of the sentences and provided a very revealing interview without my ever asking her a thing. Here is that interview: Interview With Irena Schulz.

Well, it was so well-received, I decided to send it to various people to see what they did with it. And now it’s my friend Jacque’s turn. Jacque put up with my digging around, video shots and asking questions all day long during my visit to the Best Friends Society in Kanab, Utah last September. She was a wonderful host and is the brilliant Manager of the “Parrot Garden” at Best Friends.  The following are her responses to the beginning of a sentence shown in red:

A day doesn’t go by… that I’m not thankful for an opportunity to do something I love for an unbelievable organization in one of the most beautiful locations in the United States! Not everyone is lucky enough to work for an organization that they believe in 100%. And living in the “Golden Circle”, surrounded by National Parks (Zion, Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante, Pink Coral Sands) isn’t too hard to take either!

I never thought… I’d have an opportunity to live out my dream. For most of my adult life I did what was expected of me. I raised my family and went to work at the same job for 20+ years. After that many years of living in the same place and doing the same thing day after day, life had become a little stale. Having the opportunity to move to Utah and work towards the Best Friends goal of “No More Homeless Pets” has re-energized and motivated me.

Before I worked at… Best Friends, I worked for the South Dakota Department of Social Services for 20+ years. There are some remarkable similarities between Social Work and Animal Rescue work. Both require you to make decisions that affect other’s lives. Both require you to have a basic concern for the wellbeing of others. And both allow you to work miracles on a shoestring!

Just a few of the Parrot Garden Adoptions Last Year.

Sometimes…I get overwhelmed by sheer size of the parrot problem. Although parrots have become increasingly popular as pets (numbers are estimated to be just behind dogs and cats), the number of rescues/sanctuaries available for their care has not kept pace. There are a limited number of placement options for parrots. And there are untold numbers of birds looking for a place to land. I get daily calls and emails asking us to take birds that we don’t have space for. It is heartbreaking to have to tell people “no” when they are desperate to place their companions in safe, loving environments. Because parrots have such a long life-span, this problem is just going to continue to get worse.

Wendy hard at work with a cockatoo getting ambient attention.

The thing about…parrots is that they require such specialized care. However, there are few opportunities for people to find out about their needs. Even for professionals, there are not many continuing education opportunities. Because of the long life span of parrots, they are not popular for scientific studies (which require multiple generations to adequately complete a study)…..which translates to little or no on-going research. Even Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s groundbreaking longitudinal study on the intelligence of African Grey Parrots has had continued problems with funding. These creatures are just too complex and too long-lived to make good study subjects.

King O: The Soprano Soloist at the Parrot Garden!

We try to…educate, educate, educate. I’m not just concerned about the birds in our care, but also all the ones that are living in loving homes where the owners want to do the right thing, but they don’t know what that is. One of the major goals of the Parrot Garden is to make sure that every person we come in contact with leaves us with some very basic, very important information:

• Parrots are wild animals. They are NOT domesticated pets like dogs or cats. Many of the behaviors that make them successful in the wild can cause them to be re-homed in captivity. Parrots are loud, messy and destructive. Parrots can bite. Hard.

• Seed diets are unhealthy and can kill your bird in the long run. A seed diet is like fast food. You can live on it, but how healthy are you going to be? A pelleted diet with lots of fresh vegetables is necessary for a happy, healthy bird.

• Inappropriate handling will damage your human/bird relationship. It can result in a mate bond, which is harmful to the emotional well-being of a bird. (Humans make lousy mates for parrots.) A healthy relationship is based on companionship and respect. The easiest way to make sure your relationship doesn’t cross the line is to keep physical contact above the shoulders. Parrots only touch each other on the body when they are going to breed.

• Parrots are remarkably intelligent and social. To have a happy bird, you must make them part of your family or “flock”. They cannot spend their lives in a cage…they need to be part of your everyday life. Parrots actually require more time and effort than almost any other “pet”. If you don’t have the time to give them, please don’t adopt them.

• There are hundreds of birds looking for homes. Contrary to popular belief, rescue birds do not necessarily have behavioral issues. Sometimes they are only looking for homes because they have out-lived their humans. When you adopt an older bird, you don’t have to worry about how the bird will act once it reaches sexual maturity. What you see is what you get. Parrots are remarkably adaptable and most are just happy to find a new family to bond with.

It’s all about…the birds. Everything we do, every dollar we spend, every person we visit with….is all for the birds. The sign that hangs in the Parrot Garden kitchen sums it up best: “Choice..it’s their right and our responsibility”. At the end of the day, I have to ask myself, “What did we do to make things better today?”

Nothing beats…the feeling you get when you see a person and a parrot make a connection. We call it the thunderbolt. That instant connection that is so incredibly powerful. When a bird looks in a person’s eyes and the person knows they’ve been selected. There is an overwhelming sense of being unworthy and a determination to rise to the challenge. Every time I see it happen, I’m in awe. That’s one of the things that makes me love this job!

Sometimes your gut tells you…that something is just not right. Parrots are a prey species, and as such they hide any sign of illness or injury. You have to be somewhat intuitive to keep on top of what’s going on. If you wait for concrete symptoms, it’s often too late. We also have to be able to sense a bird’s comfort level in order to find the best possible placement for a high quality of life. Some birds like flights, some like cages. Some like to go outside to the garden cages. Some don’t. And until they decide to start telling us in words what they prefer, we have to rely on body language and yes, our gut instinct.

I’ve never regretted…throwing my lot in with Best Friends Animal Society. This is an organization that definitely walks the walk. Best Friends believes in the sanctity of all life. (Even the uninvited field mice are live-trapped and relocated!) Best Friends embraces volunteers and visitors every single day of the year. Each person that comes here leaves knowing that they can make a difference in their own part of the world. There is something very special about being part of something so much bigger than myself. It allows me to truthfully say that I do make a difference.

Patricia, Jacque and Wendy

A while back I made a feather pillow for Phoenix Landing. (PL) It sat here because Founder Ann Brooks and I didn’t exactly know how to promote an auction for this item. We finally figured it out and here’s what we came up with. Phoenix Landing has an account at Ebay and so we decided to put the item up for bid there.

If you don’t know about PL here is a link to their website and you can read all about this wonderful organization and what they do to help birds and educate people about quality bird care, training and enrichment. They are located in the Washington D.C.-Virginia area as well as Asheville, North Carolina. Here is their “Mission Statement:

PROVIDERS AND ADVOCATES

The Phoenix Landing Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit all-volunteer organization. It was established to promote and protect the welfare of parrots, especially those with an extensive lifespan.Increasingly, these intelligent and beautiful birds are becoming household companions. Meanwhile, their native rain forests and deserts are being rapidly consumed for use by people. As guardians of our pets, and growing consumers of the land, it is our responsibility to provide care and help for parrots — both in domesticity and in the wild. Phoenix Landing provides for parrots in need and acts as advocates for those without protection.

I try to help them as much as I can without actually living in either area, and this auction is one of those ways. Ann and I put the pillow up for bid on Ebay.  Here is the link:

Ebay link to feather Pillow Auction

I would like to make sure this feathered work of art gets to a good home. It really is a beautiful pillow if I do say so myself. It is made of Amazon parrot feathers and accented with Cockatiel tail feathers. These feathers were generously donated by people all over the world and they are the naturally molted feathers from their companion parrots. No parrots were harmed in gathering these feathers. I am very proud of this pillow and as far as I can tell, it is the first of its kind ever created. It really is a beautiful piece and will grace your living area with style and a bit of whimsy.  It will be up for auction until March 8th and I urge you to bid on it. Every last dime of the proceeds will go to Phoenix Landing. As soon as the winner of the item contacts me, I will carefully wrap, pack and ship the pillow to their home. Please take a moment to look at my pillow and see if it’s something that would perk up your living room chair. It really is a beautiful piece. And your purchase of this pillow would help Phoenix Landing’s adoption and education programs immensely. I thank you so much for your consideration.

Snowball The Dancing Cockatoo. Click on Snowball for the Website!

Bird People like seeing other people’s birds doing stuff. Dancing, singing, talking, anything that involves birds, especially parrots doing the charming, the funny or the out-and-out amazing. Many of these videos have gone viral on Youtube, causing these birds to be Facebook “water cooler” talk and usually landing the Caregiver on “Letterman,” “Ellen,” or any number of other media outlets. And Bird People can’t get enough of them.

It’s even better if you find a little-known video of a bird doing something really cool on Youtube. For example, let’s say it has, 75 views. You throw it on your Facebook wall, and two weeks later it has over a million hits. We can then get all smug about it and take credit for “Discovering” the video and causing the viral spread of it.

When a Bird Person shows their “Frisbee Dog Person” friend a video of Snowball whooping it up with a load of scientists at the World Science Festival , they tend to take a moment of gratification from it. “Look at that bird boogie! Take that, “Frisbee Dog Person!”

We enjoy being included in this world of the smart and clever. Some of us have birds that can perform some behaviors, but unlike Dave Cota’s Indian Ringneck, A.J., I think it’s very safe to say that most of our birds can’t play golf.

The names of these birds have become common household terms among Bird People. If I was to say “Snowball” to a Bird Person, they would know immediately who I was talking about. Snowball is probably the best example of a bird taking over the universe for 15 minutes.

But the King Kong, Godzilla, heavyweight champion of intelligent birds on video is of course Alex. Irene Pepperberg’s African Grey, Alex passed away a few years ago, but the Alex Foundation lives on and he remains the benchmark “smart bird” of all time. Alex and Irene’s work with him gave us permission to believe our birds really are as smart as we think they are.

I have a framed, autographed copy of this photo in my guest bathroom.

Alex was so smart and so fabulous on video that any footage of Alex is as revered in the fictional library of “Bird Video Classics.”as “Citizen Kane” and “Gone With The Wind”  is among movie buffs.  Makes a Frisbee Dog Person want to weep.

The appeal of these videos is not just because they’re funny, cute, clever or amusing. It gives Bird People a sense of belonging to a tribe where these outstanding birds doing these amazing behaviors are a part of our world. For a few minutes we are no longer “Crazy Bird People.” We have associated ourselves with the “Popular Kid at School,” even though it’s a flippin’ bird that we’ve never met and most likely never will. But if we did, we’d want our photo taken with him.

Rescued and Adopted.

About a year ago, I did a presentation at the Rocky Mountain Society of Aviculture about getting the word out about your club, rescue, agenda, your work, your product; whatever it was that you were promoting. It was a pretty solid presentation about “branding” your organization and lifting your profile. And unlike me, it was funny.  In one of the sections of the presentation, I made a reference to Susan Friedman and her work with educating the masses about positive reinforcement behavior training. I asked how many people knew her six years before. No hands. I asked how many people knew her now. TONS of hands! Then I asked the same question about myself: How many people knew me now? Some hands. How many knew me three years ago? One hand. What? Hey! There weren’t supposed to be any hands! I laughed and we all got a chuckle that this one person happened to read the first article I’d ever written for Bird Talk.

Relinquished and Adopted.

I have a point here, bear with me. The point is, if you know me, if you’ve read my work and if you even have an inkling about me and what I believe in, you know that I support adoption and rescue. I regularly glue my fingers and pant legs together making items from molted feathers to be auctioned off for adoption and rescue foundations. I support Phoenix Landing, the NPRPF, and scads of others who are attempting to do the right thing. Well, apparently that little fact has escaped one website completely. Well, maybe it didn’t, but they didn’t care.

Here’s what happened: I put together a pretty nifty little video for my friends at the Parrot Garden at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest animal sanctuary and adoption foundation in the country. Thought I’d show my appreciation for their kindness, and for letting me ask them incessant questions, stick my video camera in their faces every five minutes and have them repeat what they just said so I could show the world the incredible work they’re doing.

One of the BF staff members posted the link to the video on a rather hard core adoption-supportive forum. It was taken down due to the fact that I had a link to a woman who has amazingly good information on her website. She happens to be a breeder. Doesn’t matter that she is brilliant. Doesn’t matter that she is very helpful to all who contact her. She’s a breeder. Apparently she is evil.  And because that link was on my website, I must be censored.

Information is information. Good information is even better. And I believe in good information. Now apparently, this particular group doesn’t even like people who have rescues if they have anything to do with anyone who is even associated with anything to do with breeding.

Well, gee whiz! Does that mean they don’t give their birds commercial pellets because breeders use the same product? Or don’t buy toys from certain bird toy companies because they sell their toys to stores who sell birds? How far does this go? Where does it stop? How much disassociation from breeders do you need to have before you are considered “pure?”

How well-intentioned is “well-intentioned?” How many degrees of separation do you need before you are considered worthy of being considered as, “One who promotes adoption?”

Rescued and Adopted.

For example, I’m not the kind of person that will hang out with Charles Manson just because we both like to write. I won’t be spending much time with that kind of person because that’s just crazy.

But conversely,  I’m not going to be hanging around much with Handmaids of the Precious Blood either. (It’s a cloistered convent) I’m sure they’re a real nice group of gals, but we don’t have a lot in common. Doesn’t mean they’re bad. How bad can a convent of nuns who pray all day really be?

It just means that we look at the world differently, that’s all.  I’m not going to try and get them to understand why I promote rescuing birds when they’re busy trying to save souls by praying.  Does that make me bad? No, at least I don’t think so.

Rescued. Re-habbed. Rehomed.

Does that make them bad, when I think they would serve the world better by coming out of their cloistered convent and help the world with their hands rather than their prayers? Again, no. It’s just a different point of view. It’s been said that the Rescues are overflowing due to breeders. While I’m not a fan of breeding, I don’t think that’s the root of the problem.

I think the problem is lack of education.

Let me repeat that:

I think the problem is lack of education.

Jacque of Best Friends Parrot Garden says it best right here:

She said, “It’s all education.”

I take no money from writing this blog. I don’t take any money because I don’t advertise. That’s not what this blog is about. This blog is about education and information. Let me repeat that:

This blog is about education and information.

Relinquished, Rehabbed and Re-homed.

It’s not about supporting breeders or condemning breeders. It’s about getting information out. Frank Abignale was the focus of the film “Catch Me If You Can.” According to Wikipedia:

Frank William Abagnale, Jr. (born April 27, 1948) is an American security consultant best known for his history as a former confidence trickster, cheque forger, skilled impostor, and escape artist. He became notorious in the 1960s for successfully passing US$2.5 million worth of meticulously forged checks across 26 countries over the course of five years, beginning when he was 16 years old.

It goes on to say this:

He is currently a consultant and lecturer at the academy and field offices for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also runs Abagnale & Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company.

Sounds to me like the FBI condemned what he did, but liked his information enough to hire him and they pay this convicted criminal to help them solve crimes. Does that make the FBI bad?

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary had a great series about them called “Dogtown.” It ran for four years on National Geographic. It brought their profile up tremendously while simultaneously raising their volunteer rate and donations. It went up so much so due to that show, they were overwhelmed with people who wanted to help.

Problem is, Nat Geo also has “The Dog Whisperer” on the same channel. Caesar Milan’s training methods aren’t all positive reinforcement. His methods are criticized by many for his use of flooding techniques, etc. Best Friends doesn’t use those techniques. They don’t condone those techniques from what I’ve gathered.

Rescued. Re-habbed. Re-homed.

Does that mean Best Friends shouldn’t have had that show on Nat Geo because they also run “The Dog Whisperer?” Isn’t that throwing the baby out with the bath water? Well! Let’s censure Best Friends because National Geographic had another show running that doesn’t use pure positive reinforcement training! Now, how does this make sense? It doesn’t. That’s just silly.

National Geographic also sells leather footwear on their website. Best Friends has a ton of vegetarians working for them. Their lunch dining room is vegetarian. Again, should Best Friends censure Nat Geo because of this?  A lot more good came out of “Dogtown” than bad.

I think we need to choose our battles. And keep our eye on the ball. So all of this fuss because I had a link to a woman who is very knowledgeable about birds who happens to be a breeder.  You know, it just isn’t that important having that link. Never was. I really didn’t even think about it at all until this dust was kicked up. I thought I was doing the right thing by getting good information out. Apparently I was wrong. Now, I have to be careful of who’s information it is and where it comes from. Even if it might help someone.

One of the objectives I had in mind coming to Best Friends was to visit all of the departments. I had eight days to do this. And there are several problems with this goal. This place is BIG. Really big. It resides on over three thousand acres.

Most everyone knows about “Dogtown.” That is the area of Best Friends that looks after dogs and readies them for adoption. They were featured in a television series on National Geographic and they rehabilitated some of the Michael Vick dogs:

But Best Friends isn’t just about that area. There are many other departments that are just important, and their work is just as crucial. And I wanted to include those departments in this blog to explain what it takes to keep this place going. They have cabins available for rent. Who’s going to maintain those? Well, I explained that important aspect and the people who take care of that. Who looks after the horses? They have really cool people that do that too. Bunnies? Debbie heads that department. And Nick does a vegetarian lunch every day except Sunday that is terrific.

Who fixes broken locks and fences in need of repair? Ross Hartill and the maintenance department looks after that. And if you’re at the Parrot Garden, you’ll meet Al who can build or fix just about anything.

Since “Dogtown” premiered on TV, they have been overrun with volunteers, so they have a staff that schedules you to work in an area each morning and afternoon. They get a ton of help from volunteers. But the staff will tell you that there is no way they could get everything  done without them. Wouldn’t happen. Couldn’t happen. There are simply too many animals and too much to do to get it all done.

Jackie from Idaho volunteering in the Parrot Garden at Best Friends

But the staff people are very cool and realize that when you come here on a vacation and want the “Best Friends Experience,” you really aren’t too interested in cleaning a bathroom. (Well, except me. I cleaned two of them when I was there. But I also look to see what needs to be done and just do it. I worked at the Cincinnati Zoo for six weeks and have a feel for what makes the staff happy. A clean, shiny bathroom makes them swoon.)  But generally, the staff sets aside the fun stuff for the guests. Walking the dogs and socializing the cats and bunnies is a big help to the staff. So is feeding the pigs.

If you want a little exercise and want to see some of the back roads of the property, you can muck the horse fields. And while you’re driving from field to field, you’ll get the bonus of a look at some of the most beautiful land you’ve ever seen:

One of the lesser known areas of Best Friends that needs a ton of help is the Bunny House. I can tell you one thing about it. It’s quiet! Bunnies are pretty much silent. So it’s very peaceful. But it’s a ton of work and it’s very hard. But they need help. So if you come to “Best Friends,” be sure to sign up to work the bunnies because they staff people there are just wonderful and need your assistance to get it all done.

Even if you simply fold a couple of loads of laundry, it helps them out because they wash about eight loads of laundry a day. I loved the Bunny house but it nearly killed me. I never imagined it would be bunnies that would kick my keester! It’s work and there’s a lot of it to go around, believe me. But people arrive at Best Friends year after year to help out by walking a dog or a pig, socializing with some bunnies, grooming a horse, and playing with some cats. It doesn’t have to be a huge massive effort. Sometimes something as simple as folding some laundry, sitting quietly with a bunny, or helping to train to a parrot will help the caregivers.

Jing was Jane Hallender’s Timneh before Jane passed away in 2002. Irene Pepperberg asked me to visit with her, so I spent a lot of time with Jing who now lives with Rick Van Tuyl and Patti Platia, both employed at Best Friends. It was a privilege to meet Jing; I was a huge admirer of Jane’s writing.

I was told of one story by Liz, a caregiver at Dogtown. They had a guest who wanted to help but she was confined to a wheelchair. She was quite upset by this because she felt she couldn’t contribute in any way.  So Liz had her go into an enclosure with an old, depressed dog who had apparently lost interest in the world and seemed to be withdrawn. The lady in the wheel chair didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t play with the dog. And it was awkward to pet him. Liz said, “Here’s a book. Just read a couple of chapters to him.”

So the lady sat with the dog and read to him. As she read, he began to stir a bit. Raising his head, he began to look at her, as if all he needed was a little one-on-one time with a human. The lady sat with that dog all afternoon reading the entire book to him. And it seemed to have a profound effect. But it wasn’t just on the dog. It seemed to do something for this lady as well. But there was one thing Liz wasn’t sure of: Who’s self-confidence did it help more? The lady’s or the dog’s?  I guess it really doesn’t matter. They both ended up happier that afternoon. And all it took was a book, a dog and a woman who just wanted to help the only way she could.

Was the three flights there and back worth it? Were the sixteen-hour days worth it?  The dry lips, shortness of breath, and hair that dried out in the heat and dry altitude so much it stood up at the end of the day? Was the nagging fatigue for a week after I came back worth it?  You’re damned right it was! I’d always wanted to go to Best Friends, but I discovered it was more than just helping to care for the animals. It was people like Jacque and Wendy at the Parrot Garden:

Me with Jacque and Wendy

It was finally meeting Rick and Patti:

Rick Van Tuyl and I with Jing

Patti in front of Piggie Paradise.

It was getting to know Marlene and Bill who work at the Parrot Garden:

It’s about getting to know Al, Virginia, Kevin and Amy and Brian, who were featured in much of my video footage. It was Laura, Heather, Ann, Patti, Justin and the crew at the Welcome Center.  Nicholas, Ross, the Housekeeping Crew, Dogtown, Deb at Bunnies, Haven and Erin at Wild Friends. Lenny and Joe at Angels Rest were so helpful to explain things there and I came away with some of the best stories from them.  And there are a hundred other people I didn’t mention that I loved meeting.

I wasn’t ready to leave when I had to. There was still too much to do and to see, too much to write about. But I do know one thing. I’ll be back to this beautiful place that staked a place in my heart where it will remain forever.