Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!
I absolutely loved reading through this thread and learning about how you and your son were chosen by this special ekkie. It's terrible when birds are rehomed with such frequency. It can take such a toll on them. But I get the feeling that Patches has hit the jackpot now that he has found your family.
Great advice by Chris a page or two back, and it sounds like you're already off to a great start. Feel free to fire away with any questions you may have.
Thank you so much. I'm sure questions will come up and it's great to know there's experienced people with answers and suggestions.
I've never believed in rehoming, and only ever given up one dog. He came to us when his owner passed, along with another one. It made 3 male dogs in the house, and became a real safety issue for 2 of them, as well as the family if kids were near when things got ugly between them. We found him a home with a disabled gentleman and his wife, where he is the only dog and has constant attention. This man was severely depressed, and tells us frequently that this dog saved his life. I love happy endings!
Aside from that, it has never occurred to us to just give up a family member. Most of ours have been rescues, and many have been high maintenance. (Six Dalmatians over the years) Our birds were cockatiels given to us by a family member who was too busy after having them for 12 years, and Cuckoo, our BFA that we bought from a family that again, was too busy for him after several years. We were told he was about 4 when we got him. As it turned out, more like 40. I planned on him being with us forever, and the time would come that one of the kids would continue to have him. I wasn't with him when he died. My daughter was here. He was his normal happy self, and had a freak out screaming fit for 5-10 seconds, and dropped to the floor of the cage. He was gone, just like that. I failed my friend somehow. All that is why I've been learning everything I can to never let Patches down, why it took as long as it did to be ready in my mind to care for such a special bird like him.
Sorry if my posts ramble on too long. I'm new to posting in forums, and there's so much to say. I'll get better at it. Thanks for indulging if you've read this far.
Jon
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