World Parrot Trust
Founded in 1989, the Trust works to conserve parrots in their natural habitat and advocate for their welfare in captivity.
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Nearly one-third of all parrot species are threatened in the wild and millions of pet parrots share our homes.
The World Parrot Trust relies on its supporters to fund critical conservation and welfare efforts. Your support and caring are vital to making a difference. Visit www.parrots.org to keep up on our latest efforts. |
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Media Board
Displaying 3 of 9 media items.
Rod Simmons posted a photo. at 7:34am on October 17th, 2008
I was blessed to have Fred, my companion cockatoo, in my life. Though his life was short, he actually saved my life. In 1996, I was very depressed. I had been out of the Navy for two years and still had no clue what to do with myself. I was working as a data entry clerk in a boring job, feeling like I was going nowhere fast. As I had told my doctors not to give me details about my blood labs, I did not know at the time that my t-cells were going down fast (I found out two years later that they had actually dropped to an all time low of only 6!)! I started hanging out at a local pet store that specialized in exotic birds. We had always had parakeets when I was a child and I had become fascinated with parrots ever since the tv show Baretta. One of the clerks got to know me and one day took me into the "baby" room and let me spoon feed a three month old cockatoo. I was hooked and bought him right away. Let me tell you, he was such a joy to come home to! We started doing many things together, like San Diego's AIDS Walk '97, Hillcrest's Cityfest, and San Diego Gay Pride. I would share treats with him like apples, bananas and pasta (his favorite). At Cityfest, I bought a frozen lemonade for myself but after I gave Fred a taste, it was always a race to see who'd get the next spoonful first! He could whistle, very loud, which I was told cockatoos weren't supposed to be able to do. While at home I would usually leave the cage open for him, except when I was cooking or sleeping. Once, I caught him chewing on an electrical cord, screamed at him "NO," pointed to his cage and he walked into it all by himself! Another time I had just finished reading a book in the living room, walked into my bedroom to put it up, and when I turned around to go back Fred had followed me, leaving his cage open and empty. I was surprised but couldn't be mad at the little guy. He loved to cuddle and to have his head scratched lightly under his feathers and also scratched under his wings. Well, sadly shortly after I moved from San Diego in 1998, he died. He didn't take the stress of the move well and stopped eating as much. He should have outlived me. I believe he was my guardian angel. He died, but the unconditional love he gave me saved my life. My t-cells got up to 600 before he died, which was higher than even when I first tested HIV+ in 1991. His sacrifice saved me. So, don't tell me that animals don't have a soul. I thank God daily for His gift of Fred and know that his spirit lives on. I am glad to discover this cause and would like to honor Fred by showing my support.
World Parrot Trust posted a video. at 5:54pm on August 28th, 2008
Discussion Board
Are we helping the wild greys by banning all imports of them?
1 post by 1 person.
Updated 13 hours ago.
