When I got Fred, my Umbrella Cockatoo I was struck by how fast I wanted to re-home him. I have always taken animal adoption very seriously and once an animal came to live with me, he/she stayed with me until their death.
But Fred was different. He was not a bird but rather a little person with feathers. An annoying, clinging, bratty person. I felt my emotions swinging from love to revulsion.
So I place an ad on Craig's list, describing Fred (the good and the bad) while insisting that the person who took Fred must have experience with Cockatoos.
And for some reason I always attract the nut jobs. Here are examples of the doozies I received.
1.One guy who told me his friend would come by and pick him up. I told him that Fred was not dry cleaning and if he wanted him he needed to meet him.
2. Another guy who said he use to own a cockatoo but didn't know what kind (Come on, man, you know what kind of bird you use to own). And then got all giddy when I told him that Fred could swear.
3. One young woman told me that she use to have a Goffin but had to get rid of him because of his screaming. Really, you think an Umbrella is quieter than a Goffin? Then she kept wanting me to down the price until I was giving Fred away for free. If you can't afford the bird, what kind of cage are we looking at?
4. Then I had a woman call me to tell me how good she was with her own female cockatoo. That's ten minutes I won't be getting back.
I soon found out that getting a cockatoo was hard but re-homing one was even harder. But I know Fred has to be re-homed just like so many cockatoos, if not for anything more than the fact that they live forever. So if you don't get one at the age of ten, chances are he/she will be looking at many homes to come.
Think about it.
But Fred was different. He was not a bird but rather a little person with feathers. An annoying, clinging, bratty person. I felt my emotions swinging from love to revulsion.
So I place an ad on Craig's list, describing Fred (the good and the bad) while insisting that the person who took Fred must have experience with Cockatoos.
And for some reason I always attract the nut jobs. Here are examples of the doozies I received.
1.One guy who told me his friend would come by and pick him up. I told him that Fred was not dry cleaning and if he wanted him he needed to meet him.
2. Another guy who said he use to own a cockatoo but didn't know what kind (Come on, man, you know what kind of bird you use to own). And then got all giddy when I told him that Fred could swear.
3. One young woman told me that she use to have a Goffin but had to get rid of him because of his screaming. Really, you think an Umbrella is quieter than a Goffin? Then she kept wanting me to down the price until I was giving Fred away for free. If you can't afford the bird, what kind of cage are we looking at?
4. Then I had a woman call me to tell me how good she was with her own female cockatoo. That's ten minutes I won't be getting back.
I soon found out that getting a cockatoo was hard but re-homing one was even harder. But I know Fred has to be re-homed just like so many cockatoos, if not for anything more than the fact that they live forever. So if you don't get one at the age of ten, chances are he/she will be looking at many homes to come.
Think about it.