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All birds are special to me. But parrots have
a special place in my heart. There are birds out there almost
anyone would take; vocal, personable, and nice feathering, social…
And there are other special birds that have sat
in a back room, never go outside, have an attitude, pluck and are
only given seed. Of course there are all levels of care in between.
There are hoarders, who think they can give
these birds care no one else would be able too. And they just keep
collecting. The bird’s space is reduced, social time is reduced,
and they get no health checks or fun activities. Again not all
rescuers are hoarders. But it can be a fine line.
Groups that go through the effort to get an IRS
tax exempt status
501(c)(3) seem more serious about taking good care of their
birds. So always check the status before giving monetary or supply
donations.
As a veterinarian, I see first hand abuse cases
of all animals. I’ve also had people come in and admit they just
can take care of their birds, and need help in placing them. Then
the excuses; ‘my husband doesn’t like the bird’, ‘I thought all
birds had feathers, who wants a bird without feathers,’ ‘It screams
when I get home,’ ‘My son’s in rehab, and it’s his bird.”
My heart goes out to these lost feathered
souls. And there are some very good groups who are giving them a
second chance for a better life. Jan and the Busy Beaks staff are
good about sharing the love—so buy something for your own special
bird so a less fortunate bird will have something to be thankful for
too.
Kay Duffin, DVM
Academy Pet Hospital
6000 Academy Rd NE
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 822-0255
Copyright ©2010-2011
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