Chaos and Critters Animal Rescue!

June Joy - the Bird Saga

As promised, Chaos & Critters proudly presents The Rescues of June!

Announcement! We will stop taking applications for the rescued birds as of 5PM on Wednesday, June 17th.

Note: To avoid re-reading of old info we are reversing the dates of the updates to keep the newest on top. Hope this helps!

UPDATED! 22 June 2009 - With the help of the big-hearted people of Mobile, AL, and folks from states as far away as Arkansas, we have finally managed to sort through the stacks of applications and find homes for all seven birds. We had many very good applications. It has been the hardest set of adoptions we have ever had to make desicions on, but we are confident that the homes picked are the best possible homes for these birds and that their lives will be comfortable and safe from this point forward. We would also like to thank all of those that took the time and expense, (especially in these economic times), to drop of food and toys for these birds - and in one special case, for the cold-blooded creatures in our temporary care. We have also recieved both phone calls and applications from people wishing to volunteer their time with these needy animals. We thank you! (And many of you that so applied will be hearing from us!)

19 June 2009 - Great News! The bloodwork is back from testing and ALL seven birds are clean! The timing is good, too. We have nearly completed going through these applications. We have FAR too many to contact everyone, however we will contact those who move up to the next level. Those best qualified will be hearing from us over the weekend about coming over to visit with the birds.

16 June 2009 - Happily, yesterday ended on a happier note. Some of the folks from the Caged Bird Society (name withheld to protect privacy) stopped by with a donation of parrot food and toys for the birds. This is a huge help and is appreciated far more than they can know! We also have begun hearing from people out there willing to help out as volunteers. We often have need of people willing to help with the rehabilitation of rescued animals. We also need foster families from time-to-time for creatures such as Iguanas, Monitors, Ferrets, & on even more rare occasions, larger breeds of snakes. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or a foster family simply use our standard application and write in the word *Volunteer* in the first line. Email it to us and we will go from there. We will contact you for a face-to-face interview. Experience is required! For example, if you have never lived with an adult Iguana in a healthy environment, then you would not be a good candidate as a foster home for Iguanas. Common sense and a huge heart are also requirements. Fortunately, the Gulf Coast has those in abundance!

We would also like to thank ALL of you folks that have sent in letters of encouragement. Those letters are truly up-lifting and never fail to warm our hearts. Please, keep those coming!
More later...

15 June 2009 - Some days will tax even the best intentioned people. After five years, and all of the animals that have been through the rescue, brought back to good health, and placed in good & loving homes, you would think that we would developed thicker skins. Yet, every once in a while someone will come along and say something that cuts right to the bone. This time it was in the form of an email from a potential bird adoptee, (who's application is still in the running, by the way), who has become impatient with the wait and has decided that since we asked for donations in a paragraph below, and since the birds have not yet gone to their new homes, that we - and the bird adoption - must be a hoax in an effort to glean money from an unsuspecting public. Not so! But how does one prove a negative? All we can think of is our record. We are not only a Tax Exempt organization, but we are also recognized by vets and businesses both County & State-wide, not to mention the Mobile County Sheriff's Office who calls us to remove reptiles (at no charge to anyone) from locations on a regular basis. Further, our donations over the entire history of our existence has yet to total $3000. The public simply does not have any deep or real concern over the exotics. That is something that we came to grips with a long time ago.

Perhaps we do need to outline the process of adoption clearly here while we await the results of testing. The birds are in quarantine, and will remain so, until we get the results of the blood test back from our vet. She told us to expect at least a 10 day wait (blood was drawn on June 11th).

The placement procedure is as follows:
1) We accept submitted applications.
2) Vet-of-record is contacted for a reference.
3) Other references are checked, including landlords if the applicant is a renter to insure the animal is allowed in the unit.
4) We compare experience levels of all remaining potential families. (Some people may be very experienced with large birds while other have none.)
5) We will conduct interviews with the potential owners and detail the needs of the bird they are interested in adopting. (With the exception of the pair of Amazons the birds will go to individual homes. No one person/family will get them all.)
6)Finally, there will be one-on-one interaction with the birds to see how they respond to the applicants.
These are the procedures we have used for every bird that has come under our care previously and we have found them to be more than adequate. They were also outlined to Mobile County Animal Control before we accepted the birds from their facility, were detailed to our vet for her approval, and were detailed to the Mobile Caged Bird Society yesterday for their input, (and they did approve of our methods).

We are very much looking forward to the day that the last of these beauties goes to its new home. Cockatoos can be loud at times and they are currently quarantined on our property. We have an Amazon of our own, (which for our family is enough). Having several other large birds on the property where he can hear them is making our Marco just a little weird!

Yes, we love the birds. Just as we love every creature that passes through here.
No, we are making nothing on finding them homes - and we happily signed a contract with Mobile County to that effect - with full disclosure to be made to the County when they are all placed.

14 June 2009 4:15AM - At 2PM this afternoon "Bull" will be speaking to the Caged Bird Society meeting at the Tillman's Corner Community Center about these birds, our Rescue, and another bird rescue we may be involved in next week. (Seems someone abandoned nearly 100 Cockatiel's near Milton, FL.) Chaos & Critters would like to thank Maryann & Barbara of Angels Arms Animal Welfare for putting our names in the hat to re home these birds. It is truly an honor to help such beautiful creatures.

We moved each of the birds to slightly better cages than they had at first. Gone are the rusty iron bars that they were found in, and the cramped quarters... for the most part. They could still use improved & larger cages. Please, it you have any large bird cages sitting about unused consider donating them to our cause. They will be certainly be put to good use. We could also use the larger bird chew toys, high grade food, & of course, monetary donations. (And remember, donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!) There are still other critters here in need as well. Visit our *Donations* page for a listing of the things we use most. Most of these can be purchased locally and monetary donations can be made via PayPal if you wish. We also have a donation box at the Animal Care Center.

12 June 2009 - The birds came home from the vet yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a quiet evening. They all are in good health. Indeed, a couple are even a bit overweight! We have begun working with the birds on an individual basis in order to socialize them with humans. Their personal interactions have, over the past few weeks at least, been limited and at times stressful. (Being moved, vet visits, etc.) We have also begun to sort through the many applications that have arrived. There are people from several States that have shown interest, but as always we will go by what is best for the birds.

The Umbrella Cockatoo, who has had a plucking issue at some time in the past, is turning out to be a REAL sweetheart! While still shy of stepping up on to an offered hand from the perch, the bird does readily climb up on the nearest human when it is out of the cage. To make it even cuter, she then will immediately snuggle her head up under your arm! These guys are SO cute! Within the next day or so we hope to have a slide show in this space showing each of the birds up close. Keep those application coming in - and remember that all donations to Chaos & Critters are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

10 June 2009 12:13 PM - All seven birds were transferred to our vet this morning without incident. In fact, after a quiet evening at our home they were all in great form - talking among themselves and putting on little attention-getting displays for the family. We expect to hear from the vet by end of business today. Note: Due to the extremely high number of calls we have been forced to stop answering the phone. Please return to this web page for regular updates.

Well, it is now 5:15 PM. The birds are still at the vet and will stay there for the night. The good news is that they seem to be in relatively good health. One is suffering diarrhea, most likely due to the unavoidable stresses they have faced over the last few weeks. Another has some fatty deposits at its tail due to either over-eating or a fatty diet, (something we will remedy here as we feed premium grade, species specific foods to all of our rescue animals. The other news is that the vet has recommended that testing be done on each of the birds for Psittacosis, (aka: Parrot Fever). This is a widespread disease caused by an organism called Chlamydia psittacti and has been seen here in the Mobile area. This disease is bad enough in birds, but can be spread to humans. While no test can be 100% certain and the chances of the birds being positive is low, Chaos & Critters has decided that it is in the best interest of the birds and their potential new homes to go he extra expense and check. Hey! We've got a great vet clinic, both doctors & staff, and we trust their judgment.

The babies may not here tonight, but the applications & phone calls continue to roll in at a mind-boggling rate. Seems Mobile, AL has gone Exotic Pet Crazy and we are glad to see it as it is the exotic pets in need of rescue that win!

09 June 2009 - Mobile AL's WALA Fox 10 News has a story on the seven (7) exotic birds, (2 White Fronted Amazons, 3 Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos, an Umbrella Cockatoo, and a male Eclectus), being transferred from the Mobile County Animal Control facility to Chaos & Critters on this date. We would like to thank them for coming out to our home for the interview. Mobile County has done a great job in caring for these special needs critters during the interim. A special thanks to B&B Pet Stop and their patrons for the donation of over $1000! These funds could not have come at a more opportune time as we take on the care of the above mentioned exotic birds. We would also like to thank our friends at the Animal Care Center on Old Shell Road for their help in the care of these exciting and beautiful creatures!

If you think your home would be the right for one of these lovelies, then please send in your application today!

The birds were picked up at 11:30AM and Mobile's media turned out in force to cover the story. Many thanks to WKRG News 5, and the Mobile Press/Register, for covering the story so thoroughly. Our phone has rang - quite literally - non stop since the news stories broke! Applications are pouring in at an unbelievable rate. It seems assured that all seven birds will soon find great homes! Tomorrow morning the birds will be off to the vet for wellness checks. When that is completed we will post the results here and then get started working through the applications. If you are interested please get you application is soon.

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