It’s not easy being Pink I don’t think it’s easy being any color that separates one from what’s considered “normal”, “popular” or just simply “acceptable.” People either admire you for being unique, turn away with indifference and contempt or the worst fate of all: try to control you and claim ownership of your soul. I think that if people could look at one another the way that parrots of different species do, the world would be a kinder place. When you open your heart and your mind and step away from what’s considered the “right way” to “own” a parrot and instead just let that parrot live in harmony with you, you open up the ability to get a valuable lesson about life. Pearl is a Moluccan cockatoo who as I write is now just 18 ½ years young. For the first 6 months of her life, things were really good. She was hand-raised, nurtured and well taken care of. After that, she was sold to a family that did what they thought was quote “normal” and her welfare began to diminish. Instead of keeping the freedom that her parents most likely experienced in order to hatch a perfect chick, she was confined to a cage that was set apart from the rest of the human family, out of “hearing range” so that they could have their much needed “quiet time” that most people insist on. Instead of being given the opportunity to learn what was acceptable behavior versus destructive behavior, she was merely punished for her mistakes. When she first came to live with us here at Pink Pearl’s Parrot Rescue, I took the “rules” that were neatly typed out about how to care for her and tossed them away. “She’s afraid of water.” they told me. “She needs more baths.” I replied. “She’s afraid of the dark and she doesn’t like her cage covered at night.” they continued. “She needs to have more sleep at night without being next to a window with headlights going by and disturbing her all the time.” I frowned as I laid a new canopy over her cage. “Just lock her up when you leave the house so she doesn’t destroy your furniture.” they snickered as I left the door to her cage open 24/7. “She needs to understand that this is every right her home as much as it is ours. She’ll make mistakes, sure but I don’t think it’s worth life imprisonment, do you?” I argued. They were baffled as they drove away, never to return again. I don’t believe in keeping animals in cages. Not dogs, cats, bunnies and least of all, parrots. I believe in having a harmonious household without the threats of predators so that the parrots can simply integrate with my husband, Kurt and I. I don’t believe in clipping parrots wings, either but sometimes, for smaller parrots especially, it may be necessary if you’re traveling or going for a walk in a safe neighborhood. (I would never, ever recommend clipping the wings of any subspecies of cockatoos, Macaws or other large parrot.) I think if people treated their children with the same respect that we treat our beloved pets, they’d all grow up to be more loving, caring individuals. We share our food with our rescued and adopted parrots and teach them to forage for themselves. We leave out fresh fruits and vegetables for them on the counter so if they want a snack while we’re gone, they don’t have to sit in a miserable cage wondering when and if we’re going to come home to satiate their hunger. I know people spend thousands of dollars in order to rehabilitate Moluccans, Tanimbars and various endangered subspecies but if we all just begin with one simple word, “freedom” we all hold the key to success. Happy 4th of July to America and to all my friends and fans around the world. You all have taught me such valuable lessons about how to open up my heart and write you into my stories so that if you’ve never had one of your beautiful poems published before, you now have those “bragging rights” to feel good about yourself. I’d like to think that every act of kindness that I do might someday come back tenfold and granted that might not happen overnight but who knows, maybe someday it will. At least it’s made a difference in Pink Pearl’s life, Coty Bear, Tanzania, Professor Harvard and all the other parrots that we’ve had the pleasure of sharing our life and our love with. Respectfully yours, Jes Fuhrmann, author The Diary of Pink Pearl, A Birds Eye View (First trilogy of a three part series about a Moluccan cockatoo. Why did it take so long to save an endangered animal?) inthebookstand/ , amazon/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_23?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the%20diary%20of%20pink%20pearl%20-%20a%20bird%27s%20eye%20view&sprefix=thediaryofpinkpearl%2Cstripbooks%2C384&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Athe%20diary%20of%20pink%20pearl%20-%20a%20bird%27s%20eye%20view You can also read brief trailers and view videos about my three part series at companionbirdworld/CONTRIBUTORS/JES%20FUHRMANN_FILES/JES%20FUHRMANN%20LANDING%20PAGE.htm
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 00:17:10 +0000
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