Friday, July 24, 2015

Being able to admit that you can't.


Many of you might know that I brought home a "rescue" Umbrella Cockatoo several months ago. He was 14 years old and had been obviously abused. You could not be near him while holding a glass (apparently water or some such liquid was likely thrown at/on him) or if you held anything that looked like a stick or was even made of wood. 

Spooky had problems, but I fell in love with him and brought him home. I did my research and discovered things that I would need to know in order to hopefully help him transition to a happy, healthy bird. I imagine you can see where this is going.


Recently, we added Lisa to our home. She was owned by one man for 18 years, but apparently when he got a new girlfriend and his African grey did not like her...he got rid of THE GREY! She plucked her legs bare as well as some areas of her body and the tops of her wing "shoulders". With plenty of love to give, I thought this was wonderful, I had room in my heart for Spooky and Lisa. Spooky apparently did not agree. He became angry and hostile almost overnight. Even after we placed him and Lisa on different floors of the house where they would never see each other, his mood did not improve.



He would sometimes scream for hours at a time. Now, knowing that the 'Too has a loud voice, I had no problems when he liked to "sing" with the music being played. But this was different. This was not singing, it was screaming and even a screech that was like a seagull (but much louder). Things came to a head when he began to slam his face into his cage very hard to the point that I feared for his safety. He even broke a couple of his Umbrella feathers on top of his head.

It was a heartbreaking decision, but we have placed Spooky with a rescue that will not be placing him in another house ever again. This will be his new Forever Home with a man who specializes in birds that have big problems. I will admit to you here that I shed a few tears that day, but I also knew that he was very unhappy for whatever reason and that I was not capable of giving him what he wanted despite my best efforts. 


I will miss my buddy. But I know that I did the right thing for HIM. It was not necessarily for me, and it was difficult to admit that I lacked the ability to do what was needed, but in the end, Spooky deserves a shot, and being with a person who rehabs damaged birds is going to be a healthier alternative for him.

8 comments:

  1. I am sad to hear this. I know you love that bird. Putting Spooky where he can recover and be happy is the best move you could make.for him, even though it hurts. I hope the rescue home can bring him some peace.

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    1. The man called and said that he seemed confused at first, but seems to be doing well now.

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  2. Ah, that sucks, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope he gets some peace there. How's Lisa doing?

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    1. Lisa is getting her feathers back and she even comes down from her perch and walks over to me while I am at the desk. She dips her head and waits for me to give her a skritch. If I don;t pay attention, she says "Come here." She is starting to get used to things.

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  3. I am so sorry. I hope that spooky and you find peace. It's never easy when we have to make a life changing decision for us or our beloved pets. Glad Lisa is adjusting well.

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  4. I am so sorry to hear this. I know how hard it had to be for you.

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  5. I'm sorry to hear this Todd, I know how you cherish your special friends. And as usual you are again looking out for them in the best way possible regardless of how much it hurts you.

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  6. I'm so sorry Todd, I'll never understand why our "justice" system does not include the abused animals & the genetic screw-ups that abuse them. Sadly, in our home we have decided it will be quite a long while before we will again adopt for just this reason. We had a damaged dog. She had so many problems. It is just heartbreaking to live with. We gave her a forever home but she just never seemed to feel secure or loved enough. I will always wonder if her last 10 years would've been better had we done what you did. You did the right thing, you were stronger than we were. While our sad little dog is now at peace you created that peace for both birds while they still have the years to enjoy them.

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