Rescue

"Rescue" is a word with many different meanings and the definition of what exactly constitutes "a rescue" or "rescuing" a parrot is a subject of hot debate among the animal community. When people find out that we are a Parrot "rescue" they often want to know what we are rescuing the birds from.
Our definition of rescue is removing a bird from a situation that presents immediate and quantifiable danger to the parrot's health or life. In some cases, this means paying a bird's unpaid vet bills and giving it a place to stay so it will not be euthanized. Sometimes the birds are in situations where they in danger of dying due to environmental effects, physical abuse or untreated health problems.

It sounds quite impressive, but the reality of rescuing a bird is not very romantic. It generally involves laying in a layer of feces to cut a bird out of a cage and enduring the conditions that are putting the bird in danger. Those volunteers who participate in actual rescues have to endure a smelly, nasty, inclement, hostile and sometimes dangerous job. We are all grateful that we have members who will do this for the feathered lives who are stuck in these places.

Images from a rescue situation. The floor
was cleaner than the first time we arrived

Thankfully, most of the birds we are contacted about do not need "rescuing"... they need "rehoming". These birds come from homes where they receive at least good care, sometimes their diet isn't excellent, sometimes their vet care or grooming hasn't been as regular as it should be, but there is certainly nothing beyond benign neglect for them. Most people are surprised to find out that real "rescuing" is a small (but very important) part of what we do. Most of the birds in our care don't have severe issues - and those they do have can be modified with a little behavioral training.

So, if we're not "rescuing" these parrots, why do we have them?

Surrenders are normally one of a very few number of things. 90% of the birds surrendered to us fit into one of two categories.
1) "I didn't know what I was getting into"... it screams, it bites, takes too much time, takes too much money, chewed up my baseboards, I got married and it doesn't like my new spouse, I had a child and don't have the time. All of those are basically due to the fact that the person who purchased a parrot didn't do their research and find out what life with a parrot is really like. (If you'd like some insight you can click here.)
2) Unfortunate life circumstances. Home forclosures, loss of job, owner death, terminal/severe illness, sudden disability all qualify. Sadly with the recent economic down turn we are seeing a lot of beloved parrots who are surrendered because the people who own them no longer have anywhere to live themselves.

This is the day in/day out reality of our shelter. In response, we developed education, outreach and behavior modification services. We try to teach people about what to expect from a parrot before they buy one and if they've already bought one we try to help them understand the kind of care it takes. If they have behavioral issues, we reach out and try to help them work with the behavior. We've realized that it is better for a bird to stay in a good home rather than come to our shelter and have to find another one!

A Macaw that had never been handled learns to step up

Of course, sometimes behaviors can't be altered enough to suit a person, or sometimes the situation (like those in category #2) is out of everyone's control. Eventually we'd like to no longer have a job. That's the goal of any reputable shelter - to see a day where no homeless animals exist! That day seems far off, but we hope that one day it happens.

New volunteer opportunity

** We are currently in need of a website developer/maintainer and a professional or semi-professional photographer**

With the time and energy we spend caring for the birds at PARS, there is little time to create and maintain a "pretty" webpage, ensure all our links are working and add all the information we would like for our website to contain. There is also little time to take photos that fully convey the beauty and personality of each bird in our care.

It is important to us that we maintain an up to date list of adoptable parrots so interested adopters know who they may visit and who has already been placed. However, the well being and care of our birds comes first - so sometimes pretty pictures fall by the way side.

This is a great way for those who do not have the time available for regular, scheduled volunteer work or are unavailable during standard volunteer hours to help. If you are interested, please contact us at:

outreach@parrotsr4ever.com
or
macawman@parrotsr4ever.com

Our current website may be viewed by clicking here.

Of Birds and Bonding

Meet Vana and her boyfriend. Two birds that have bonded in our shelter setting. They are considered sanctuary birds. (Vanna's health isn't what it used to be, and we feel that she should remain with us so that her medical needs can always be addressed)

Seeing two birds really and truly happy with each other is one of the most heartwarming things we get to witness. What happened between them is one of my favorite tales.

Their Story:

When Vana was surrendered she was supposedly a young, plucked bird that was a breeder. A quick medical exam and behavioral evaluation later and it was apparent that Vana was actually an older bird and had been a breeder for quite some time. She had cataracts, her feather follicles were permanently damaged and she was extremely skittish with people.

Vana was always gentle with the shelter staff and never bit, but she was easily stressed and obviously scared. Despite months of working with her, Vana never really warmed up to people. I was always sad to see this sweet old girl looking uncomfortable. She seemed lonely, but didn't want people as companions. The other macaws generally ignored her. One of the other female macaws would let Vana stay on her cage top and generally tolerated her presence. Adopters were not interested in this "ugly old bird" - no one seemed to notice how beautiful she was on the inside.

Vana getting ready for her bath

One day, a young, gorgeous, fully feathered hybrid macaw was surrendered. He was out going and people oriented. DJ is the kind of bird that most adopters stop and stare at. He's fun, he likes to dance, he plays (sometimes a little too rough for those of us who don't have feathers!) and he is breathtakingly beautiful. After quarantine the "new guy" was placed in the large macaw room.

DJ after a bath!

Instead of checking out the beautiful fully feathered, young "ladies" in the room though, DJ zeroed in on Vana. He immediately started defending her, staying on top of her cage and trying to hang out. Vana either ignored him or went inside her cage to get away. DJ was very stubborn. He kept trying to make friends - he never chased her, but made sure he was always near by so if someone tried to pick Vana up or do anything that distressed her he could protect her. He was a constant shadow.

A few months later Vana finally gave in and the rest is history. Vana finally has a friend who she is not afraid of and DJ can be with the lady he is smitten with.

These two somehow found each other and are both much happier with each other than they are with people. Like most good stories, this one has a moral. Sometimes it's what's on the inside that really matters. And unlike some good stories this one is completely true.