FoxersArtist
01-21-2009, 07:23 PM
I know you must be thinking, "didn't those guys just get Lucy last week?" Indeed we did just get her but before I tell this story, I must say just one thing. Parrots have a very special gift. They always seem to end up where they are meant to be, one way or another, even if it takes some time, and sometimes not even by the choosing of their people. They know what they want and I feel that somehow, God is always guiding them along.
About 6 years ago I was volunteering for one of my good friends who owns a bird store in Albuquerque. She has always done right by her birds and does not just sell them to whoever walks in. She lets her birds choose their new homes, and like us, she often works with birds who are older and have been rehomed a lot, many who have serious issues. She is firmly in support of adopting adult parrots who are stable and have a better idea about what they want from a potential new family. She has shared so much of her knowledge about birds with me and I feel very blessed to know her.
While I was volunteering, I met my very first bare eyed cockatoo face to face, a little gal named Kiwi. I knew what she was, but since there were not many in our state, I had never seen one up close before. I was drawn in by those beautiful dark eyes and she looked so fluffy and snuggly. Above all else, she looked like she was always smiling, something I would come to love about the bare eyed species. One day I got brave and decided that I would like to try to step Kiwi up as I could not take the attraction that I felt for her any longer. I had seen others step her up and she was such a sweet heart. I reached in for Kiwi and the next thing I knew there was blood dribbling onto the floor. Kiwi spared no expense to nail me good and I quickly had to put her down to go stop the bleeding. I was still in love but I decided that I had better be in love from a distance.
I got to know Kiwi from a distance over time as she was not a bird that was for sale, but rather, belonged to the store owner. The owner kept her in the shop because she had bonded with a sulfer crested cockatoo named Tut, and she was able to give them lots of supervised out of cage time together, where they happily spent their time being a beautiful, bonded pair of lovers.
I eventually stopped volunteering after I started doing more of my own rescue from home and started learning a lot more by the birds that were in my care. In May of 2005, I got a very distressing phone call from Kiwi's mom. She wanted to let me know that 17 birds had been stolen from her shop the night before. Someone broke one of her windows and crawled through. They knew where to walk so the alarm would not be triggered, and they only took specific birds instead of grabbing for whatever they could reach. The birds stolen were many african greys, some amazons (including a bird that was mated with our orange wing, PJ) and the little bare eyed, Kiwi. They did not take Tut, who was housed in another cage, and my friend found him shaken and crushed that his mate was missing the next day. We rushed down to the shop and took PJ home, because he too, was very shaken and very heartbroken over the loss of his best friend. We were able to give him a new life where he could forget about what happened that night.
A few days ago I went into the shop to have Peggy's beak done and decided that Benny boy needed a little trim too since he was getting a bit scaley. I rarely ever have to have Benny in for a beak trim as he keeps his beak in great shape and it takes a long time for scales to form. I took him out of the carrier when it was his turn and my friend looked into his eyes and commented that she would love to have a bare eyed again - they are the only kind of cockatoo that really captures her heart, and especially with the relationship she once had with Kiwi. Reeaally, I thought. "I actually have a bare eyed cockatoo right now," I remarked and watched her eyes light up. She wanted to know where Lucy came from, so I told her all about the couple who had her and had to give her up because of allergies. I told her it was a really sad case. She seemed really interested in Lucy, so I told her I would bring Lucy in to the shop once she settled in a little.
That night I got a phone call from my friend and it really left me stunned. She excitedly wanted to know - what if Lucy was one of the 17 stolen birds?! If Lucy was the stolen Kiwi, that means Tut the sulfer crested would recognize her right away. These two were hopelessly in love and there would be no mistaking whether or not they knew one another. As i'm hearing all of this over the phone my mind started to compare memories. Kiwi hated me and was not shy about letting me know it. Lucy hated me too - she even stalks me when she is out. I figured I just had bad luck with most bare eyed toos! Kiwi was stolen in 2005 which is when Lucy was reportedly purchased by the first home we tracked her back to. She lived there until 2007 where she was rehomed to a really creepy guy who collects birds and then resells them at a higher value (he is always asking about our rescues). This guy sold Lucy to the couple who she loved so much in mid 2008 and then they had to give her to us 6 months later because of allergies. The timeline fits. I wanted to know from my friend if Kiwi did any unique things. She waved with her foot. Lucy waves with her foot too - actually, the owners called it "blowing kisses" because she would put her foot up by her beak.
Now I was dieing to know and so was my friend. We set up an appointment to meet today and I had the feeling that Lucy would not be coming back home. When I walked into the shop my friend let her out of the carrier and Lucy stepped right up onto my friend like they had been best friends their whole lives. And then Lucy saw an anxious Tut, sitting in the other room. My friend put the two birds together in a play area and it bacame an instant love affair. I had been nervious about how the birds would react as they would be the only proof that Lucy was really Kiwi. The birds locked together, rubbing each other with their beaks, regurgitating, and pawing at one another. It was instant, obvious, and completely unmistakable. Kiwi was home. I told Kiwi that I loved her before I left and she was so happy that she didn't even lunge at me. It felt so good to be a part of restoring such a beautiful bond and my friend was on top of the world to see her bird again.
We are doing everything we can to get in contact with Kiwi's "first" owner after the robbery. If she can tell us who she got the bird from, we may be able to locate some of the other stolen birds.
-Anna
About 6 years ago I was volunteering for one of my good friends who owns a bird store in Albuquerque. She has always done right by her birds and does not just sell them to whoever walks in. She lets her birds choose their new homes, and like us, she often works with birds who are older and have been rehomed a lot, many who have serious issues. She is firmly in support of adopting adult parrots who are stable and have a better idea about what they want from a potential new family. She has shared so much of her knowledge about birds with me and I feel very blessed to know her.
While I was volunteering, I met my very first bare eyed cockatoo face to face, a little gal named Kiwi. I knew what she was, but since there were not many in our state, I had never seen one up close before. I was drawn in by those beautiful dark eyes and she looked so fluffy and snuggly. Above all else, she looked like she was always smiling, something I would come to love about the bare eyed species. One day I got brave and decided that I would like to try to step Kiwi up as I could not take the attraction that I felt for her any longer. I had seen others step her up and she was such a sweet heart. I reached in for Kiwi and the next thing I knew there was blood dribbling onto the floor. Kiwi spared no expense to nail me good and I quickly had to put her down to go stop the bleeding. I was still in love but I decided that I had better be in love from a distance.
I got to know Kiwi from a distance over time as she was not a bird that was for sale, but rather, belonged to the store owner. The owner kept her in the shop because she had bonded with a sulfer crested cockatoo named Tut, and she was able to give them lots of supervised out of cage time together, where they happily spent their time being a beautiful, bonded pair of lovers.
I eventually stopped volunteering after I started doing more of my own rescue from home and started learning a lot more by the birds that were in my care. In May of 2005, I got a very distressing phone call from Kiwi's mom. She wanted to let me know that 17 birds had been stolen from her shop the night before. Someone broke one of her windows and crawled through. They knew where to walk so the alarm would not be triggered, and they only took specific birds instead of grabbing for whatever they could reach. The birds stolen were many african greys, some amazons (including a bird that was mated with our orange wing, PJ) and the little bare eyed, Kiwi. They did not take Tut, who was housed in another cage, and my friend found him shaken and crushed that his mate was missing the next day. We rushed down to the shop and took PJ home, because he too, was very shaken and very heartbroken over the loss of his best friend. We were able to give him a new life where he could forget about what happened that night.
A few days ago I went into the shop to have Peggy's beak done and decided that Benny boy needed a little trim too since he was getting a bit scaley. I rarely ever have to have Benny in for a beak trim as he keeps his beak in great shape and it takes a long time for scales to form. I took him out of the carrier when it was his turn and my friend looked into his eyes and commented that she would love to have a bare eyed again - they are the only kind of cockatoo that really captures her heart, and especially with the relationship she once had with Kiwi. Reeaally, I thought. "I actually have a bare eyed cockatoo right now," I remarked and watched her eyes light up. She wanted to know where Lucy came from, so I told her all about the couple who had her and had to give her up because of allergies. I told her it was a really sad case. She seemed really interested in Lucy, so I told her I would bring Lucy in to the shop once she settled in a little.
That night I got a phone call from my friend and it really left me stunned. She excitedly wanted to know - what if Lucy was one of the 17 stolen birds?! If Lucy was the stolen Kiwi, that means Tut the sulfer crested would recognize her right away. These two were hopelessly in love and there would be no mistaking whether or not they knew one another. As i'm hearing all of this over the phone my mind started to compare memories. Kiwi hated me and was not shy about letting me know it. Lucy hated me too - she even stalks me when she is out. I figured I just had bad luck with most bare eyed toos! Kiwi was stolen in 2005 which is when Lucy was reportedly purchased by the first home we tracked her back to. She lived there until 2007 where she was rehomed to a really creepy guy who collects birds and then resells them at a higher value (he is always asking about our rescues). This guy sold Lucy to the couple who she loved so much in mid 2008 and then they had to give her to us 6 months later because of allergies. The timeline fits. I wanted to know from my friend if Kiwi did any unique things. She waved with her foot. Lucy waves with her foot too - actually, the owners called it "blowing kisses" because she would put her foot up by her beak.
Now I was dieing to know and so was my friend. We set up an appointment to meet today and I had the feeling that Lucy would not be coming back home. When I walked into the shop my friend let her out of the carrier and Lucy stepped right up onto my friend like they had been best friends their whole lives. And then Lucy saw an anxious Tut, sitting in the other room. My friend put the two birds together in a play area and it bacame an instant love affair. I had been nervious about how the birds would react as they would be the only proof that Lucy was really Kiwi. The birds locked together, rubbing each other with their beaks, regurgitating, and pawing at one another. It was instant, obvious, and completely unmistakable. Kiwi was home. I told Kiwi that I loved her before I left and she was so happy that she didn't even lunge at me. It felt so good to be a part of restoring such a beautiful bond and my friend was on top of the world to see her bird again.
We are doing everything we can to get in contact with Kiwi's "first" owner after the robbery. If she can tell us who she got the bird from, we may be able to locate some of the other stolen birds.
-Anna