RANT- My 30 year commitment

**RANT** A friend was over, who's only been around my birds a few times, and after watching Kellan (Jenday) pull my earring out, and Conlan(Gcc) bite my hand, she looked at me with a disgusted look and said "Why do you even keep them? They are loud, nasty, messy, and bite. They are a waste of space and holding you back from having a life. If you want birds replace them with something nicer."(something to that effect)

I flipped out and tossed her out of my house... Please excuse me while I rant and what I wanted to throw in her face. I was really peeved and had to get this out with people who understand...

Parrots aren't just something you replace or get rid of. They are a commitment. A 30 year commitment. MY 30 year commitment.

They are not a waste of space. They are my heart and soul. My best friends. My teachers. My therapists. My kids. My alarm clocks. My reason to get out of bed and face the day while dealing with a chronic illness.

Yes they are loud. Yes they are messy. Yes they bite. Yes they are expensive. Yes they are high maintenance. Yes I have to change things to make sure they are safe. Yes I spend all my time with them. Yes I spend more money on them than myself

But... They are loud because they get excited to see me after work. They bite to communicate because they can't talk. They are picky eaters and I make sure they get the good stuff they need, while normally they throw out what they don't want. They get quality food, safe toys, the biggest cages to be happy. They enjoy my company while asking for nothing in return. They make me smile on days I just want to cry. They give me reason to face each day smiling. They guard me when I'm sick. They understand when I'm having a bad day and are quieter and more laid back.

These feathered creatures aren't just 'pets'. They are my children. I know what they like and don't like. Their favorite games, scratching spots, toys, perches. I know their voices. I know how each one will greet me when I walk into the room. I know each personality. They are no different that the human children people have.

These living breathing things COMMIT their love of seeing me smile and laugh. They COMMIT to always being happy to see me. They COMMIT to teaching me their ways. They COMMIT to being my best friend's. They COMMIT to offering their trust over and over again. All the while asking for nothing except time.

And I commit to the same for them. I COMMIT to making they happy, safe, healthy, comfy. I COMMIT to making sure they have full bellies, fresh water that I would drink, and a clean home. I COMMIT to making sure their needs are before my own. I COMMIT to being someone they can be PROUD to be worth of their love. I COMMIT to bettering myself to better them.

That is my commitment. My 30 year commitment. My favorite commitment.

Yes agree, they are our feathered angels and unlike children do not seem to posses a selfish bone in their bodies. Perhaps you can make up with your friend and instead of falling out try and show what you see in your feathered loves. Of course with some you are barking up the wrong tree and will never get them to see. It is lovely to know how loved Kellan and Conlan are.

Thank-you! For your 30 Year Commitment! Thank-you!, for Being You!

Very often Human Friends do not understand the commitment that our Parrots make to us and we make to them! They have no place to start from in their lives. Most are little more than empty Islands!

And most of all: Thank-you for voicing your rant here with friends that do understand.

Please take a moment to read a couple of Segments in my Thread at the top of the Amazons Forum. The Stickly Titled: I Love Amazons - ...
Page 1: Love Amazons
Page 3: Baggage - Re-homed Pray
Page 9: Passing of a Feathered Friend

Please freely take from them and with your well stated Rant here as its base, post a letter to your Friend. Help her understand what your Parrots mean to you. Help your friend grow to understand the depth of Commitment that you share with your Parrots. And, lastly help guide your friend to understand what commitment is in your World and What a Wonderful World it truly is!

It is very important to understand that in today's World very few people know what commitment is, let alone what loving warmth it provides.

You may just open a Window into a very dark World that someone else does not even realize they are stuck within.

Sorry you had that experience from your friend being so rude. That attitude does make us bird people feel alienated..
Dogs (and cats) are so adored, accepted, and in many cases practically worshiped. Humans tolerate so much from them. Yet a bird is just a lower life form to most people. Much, much lower than dogs, and that is the attitude regardless of where you live in the world. Lots of avian prejudice. People just can't understand and relate to animals that are so different from us or other mammals.

RavensGryf said:

Sorry you had that experience from your friend being so rude. That attitude does make us bird people feel alienated..
Dogs (and cats) are so adored, accepted, and in many cases practically worshiped. Humans tolerate so much from them. Yet a bird is just a lower life form to most people. Much, much lower than dogs, and that is the attitude regardless of where you live in the world. Lots of avian prejudice. People just can't understand and relate to animals that are so different from us or other mammals.

Click to expand...

So true Julie, I don't push birds on people who do not want to hear or see, as feel there is more risk of these beautiful feathered creatures ending up in unloving homes. If happy stories of my precious Plum led to that I couldnt live with myself.

Too bad your friend had to be so rude to you I once had someone tell me that people with birds are crazy right to my face. Like what the?????? Some people just really need a filter if they can't be nice. Thanks for loving your little guys so much, and please don't let her bug you too much

Rant on, my friend!

Rant on!

We're SOOOOOOOOOOOOO behind you!

Thank you all for your support!

It just really bothered me At first I thought she had been joking.. But her look? She stared at Conlan like she was a disease. This is Conlan's home. I won't stand for her or any of my other pets to be spoken of like that!

I felt like a parent who just had someone tell them 'it's just a child, have another'.

It was not OK.

I've had people tell me, about my rats when they are sick, it's just a rat. Spend $10 and get a new one. You may as well tell a mother of a child with cancer "you can still have kids. Just have another"

It's a shame people can't be more.... Human about how we few our companions

My 'kids' are my home. They make these 4 walls home. This is their home. Not yours. Doing like it? I'LL HOLD THE DOOR!!

And you all should have seen the looks and heard the comments when people found out I spent $1200 on a rats medical bills in less than 2 months to try and treat a neurological condition. In the end, however, there was nothing we could do and Dax ultimately had to be humanely euthanized. But I can at least say I did everything.

Every med, xrays, laser treatments, nerve blocks... Yeah. But my vet, who also is my CAV, tried everything for me.

I've always been the person to say "If they are willing to fight for themselves, I'll fight with them." And Dax was no exception

People just don't get it. And it hurts.

It's one thing to have an opinion of what kinds of animals you prefer or not, but why can't people have the common decency to just shut their mouth and keep mean comments to themselves, especially in front of people they call a friend. It's disrespectful, and not taking into account the other person's feelings about what/who they love. Just because I don't like something and can't understand why someone else would, I'd have the sense to not tell them to their face.

I'm right there with you. I have many family and friends that do not understand like you. Rant on Honey!


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Although Jardy certainly falls into this, before i got her , this was how i felt about my reptiles. Everyone called them nasty and gross and of course all the myths about how easy it is to get salmonella from them, it sucked to have practically everyone i knew call them disgusting.
(Ps, unless your reptile has been in an unsanitary enviroment and you lick it or eat its poop... your not getting salmonella....)

So i feel ya. I love my scale babies just as much as my feather baby

funny thing with friends is they don't understand the joy some of us get. they also don't understand when we are at home with just our birds they are not loud they are only excited when our human friends are around. my friends all love the heck out of the birds but I do not let any of them handle any of them and I don't do company with birds out of their cages. I also tell them these birds can and will bite so keep your fingers out of the cages my insurance will not cover an ER visit due to anyone's failure to follow simple instructions, but you know how that goes these creatures are just one of those things you got to touch if ya can so I have seen a friend pet Sammy a time or two. and I tell him you are on your own.

Ugh, reading that story made my blood boil!!!! I feel for you and understand your frustration.

The people that generally make these comments, I find, are not animal people. They see animals (and often times children) as an inconvenience, and that's IT. People like this are very close-minded people that just cannot wrap their heads around/ comprehend why people do things differently than they do. I'm glad to hear you threw her out... UGHHHH!

I'm so sorry you went through that. Some people don't have the instinct to care for animals as intelligent and sensitive as birds.

Why, Nigel is on the upper side of the sensitive scale. I was away for two nights (he was well cared for no worries) but when I returned yesterday I have been promptly pooed on (he usually doesn't do that unless he's mad) and have cleaned poo everywhere.

Yes. Nigel is proof they are smart, sensitive and hold grudges....and know how to get back at us.

This is why I love birds so. They. Are. Cool.q

Great post and thread!!

Some folks lack the empathy to understand our passions. Worse, your "friend" was clueless and terribly insensitive to rant against your lifelong companions.