By Teresa (Terry) Whatley | Founder & Director
There are so very many birds in need of homes. Many birds end up in animal shelters because they accidentally escape their homes and are not found or reclaimed by their owners or are relinquished to animal shelters because their owners can no longer keep them. Other birds are intentionally released and expected to be able to survive in the wild by people who have run out of options for keeping their birds. Still other birds suffer the misfortune of having their human die and then have nowhere to go if the friends and family of the deceased do not want them. Then there are the birds who started out as wild birds that suffered an injury or illness that resulted in them needing to be kept as pets for the rest of their lives. Our hearts break for all these birds. We, Avian Underdogs Rescue Association, take in as many of these birds as we possibly can. Sadly, there are more needy birds than there are places for them. Please think about taking in just one bird as a foster caregiver. Better yet .. please adopt just one bird that is in need of a home. In this report, we are sharing with you some of our birds who are desperately seeking a foster home or a permanent home. If you can share your heart and your home with a needy bird, please contact our Foster/Adoption Coordinator, Sue Bendheim, by e-mail at SBendheim@aol.com.
Please meet Allie and Dina:
Allie is a 27 year old Blue and Gold Macaw who is in one of our wonderful foster homes along with her life long friend, Dina, a 32 year old Double Yellow Headed Amazon. Allie and Dina were owner surrendered to the Orange County Animal Care shelter and subsequently pulled by AURA.
These two underdogs have been examined by a board certified avian veterinarian and are now available for adoption to a qualified person or family. These two life long companions must be adopted together.
Allie has an old wing fracture that was untreated and healed improperly. She is otherwise in good health and is a sweet, mellow macaw. Dina was overweight and had high cholesterol on arrival. Both these conditions are being addressed and improved upon by her wonderful foster. Both these birds were very dirty when they came into our care and had not been groomed in years. They are now clean, groomed, and happy! Dina steps up on a stick very well. Both these lovely parrots are now on an excellent diet of fresh chop, nuts, some seed, and fresh water. They will be going back to our board certified avian veterinarian for a follow up exam within the next 3 months.
Sweet Pea:
Sweet Pea is a male, 27 year old Timneh African Grey parrot. He was surrendered to us by a relative of his human Daddy who passed away earlier this year. Sweet Pea's Daddy was his only owner from babyhood. Sweet Pea had feather destructive behavior (FDB) when arriving at AURA. Although there has been some improvement in his FDB, he continues to pull some feathers. It is unknown at this point whether some of the feather follicles are permanently damaged. His diet is now excellent, his environment is enriching, and his environment is smoke free. Sweet Pea's Daddy was a smoker and being exposed to smoke for many, many years possibly resulted in Sweet Pea pulling out "dirty" feathers. Sweet Pea has quite a vocabulary (including some rather "salty" phrases) and is a professional level whistler. He is super cute, steps up, dances, kisses, and is a very good eater! Sweet Pea is, however, terrified of children and needs to be adopted into a home that is child free.
Isabel:
Isabel was formerly a young, wild Mitred Conure found on the ground at Chapman University in Orange by a person who works there. She, (DNA sexed,) had a severe lower beak injury and a fractured wing. The finders were directed to us by a local veterinarian who treats many of our birds.
Isabel was named after the sweet person who found her. Isabel had to have surgery to remove approximately 2/3 of her lower beak resulting in the need for her to be hand fed for about 2 months until she was able to start self feeding. She is feisty, funny, loud and full of life now. Isabel is very ready to be adopted into a fun home and preferably a home with other conures.
Soliel:
This bird had been living in the cardboard box shown in the picture. It was very happy to get moved into a large cage with perches. The bird did not have a name, the age is unknown, and the gender is unknown. The family that had it apparently got it from a neighbor.
These are only a few of the many that need your help. We thank you for your monetary support as it is needed to provide veterinary care as well and food and supplies for these birds. We are very grateful! Now, we are also asking you to open your hearts and your homes to these Underdogs of the avian world.
By Teresa (Terry) Whatley | Project Leader, Founder and Director
By Teresa (Terry) Whatley | Project Leader, Founder and Director
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