No matter If you lose your pet due
to death, having to put them down or placing the pet in a new home. The pain of
loss can be great for both the human and the animal. Here is my story.
I had to place Tangy my Molluccan Cockatoo in
the care of someone other than me. I was attached to Tangy and expected her to
be my upper elderly years bird. Tangy likes most everyone and would be happy
sitting with her human receiving loves most of the day. I would have been able
to have others help me with Tangy, unlike my other birds that need an
experienced bird handler.
I was Tangy's third owner. Tangy's original owners had moved to Arizona
from Washington state due to a job transfer, and decided it was best to leave
Tangy in Washington. When the couple moved they didn't know where or when they
would have a permanent spot to live. I
just by chance found out who the original owner was when I went to a bird club
meeting in Tri-Cities. The people at the bird club recognized her. I contacted Tangy's original owners in Arizona
to let them know, I now had Tangy and would take good care of her. Tangy's
original owners in were surprised that I had her. The second owner who gave me
Tangy was suppose to contact the
original owner in Arizona, if things didn't work out. We did take good care of
Tangy and had good times.
What comes with a Moluccan Cockatoo
is a big personality and a big voice. It was the big voice my husband and
daughters could no longer handle. I was told
Tangy had to go and she had to go now. It was November so I didn't think
driving from Arizona up north to Washington was going to be an option. There
were a few bird club people I had met
that I contacted about taking Tangy for a while, however they were not able to
take her at the time. The second owner who gave Tangy to me was not able to
take her due to health issues.
The result of this re-homing experience. I
sold her for two hundred dollars with cage, to a couple here in town who had
been wanting a bird for the husband. The gal stated she had grown up with
parrots. I could have given the bird to
them but I didn't. I gave the bird & cage to them cheap. One year later the couple here in town decided
Tangy was not a fit for them. Tangy started chasing the gals feet and biting
her when they sat on the bed together. How did I find out Tangy was not going to work
out for them? At times I'm a Craig's
List surfer. I saw a Moluccan listed and the phone number matched the one we
had on record, from selling Tangy to them. I called the couple up and asked to
buy her back. I paid more to get her back, then what I had sold her for. You may be wondering why we bought her back
if she was too loud in the first place. Number one reason, we did not want her
to get in the wrong hands. Number two reason to get her back. I felt a lot of
guilt for not going the extra mile to get Tangy to Arizona with her original
owners. I had taken a great deal of
"heat" from the bird club members and the original owner of Tangy in
Arizona, regarding selling her. I quit attending bird club as I was no longer
comfortable going. I felt my hands were tied. My husband had said "Tangy
has to go now".
After we bought Tangy back, Tangy's original owner of 19 years stated,
"we would like you to return Tangy to us if the time comes again, that you
can no longer keep her". I kept in
contact with the couple in Arizona through e-mail, sent pictures of Tangy with
our other birds and gave a report of how
Tangy was doing. After another two years the time came again (and I knew it
would) that my husband said "it's time for Tangy to go to Arizona. We
don't want to deal with the loudness any longer". I made the phone call
the following day to Tangy's original owners. Carlton drove the two and a half
days from Arizona to Washington to pick up Tangy. Carlton is retired now and a
full time volunteer at the Oasis Parrot Sanctuary. I sobbed off and on for
several days before Tangy was picked up by Carlton. The day she left we visited
for a while and I kept my composure. Tangy did not remember Carlton and could
tell something was up. I took Tangy to the car and put her in the travel cage.
A few weeks have passed and the
tears still flow as I finish writing this. It's risky to share publicly on such
a controversial topic as re- homing
pets. Some people are extremely judgmental
, however I'm taking the risk. Someone may be enlightened as I was from my experience. In a way I was selfish to
my family for keeping her. Even though Steve and Amber loved Tangy, they did
not want to live with that amount of volume. The loudness was not constant but
it was there. I know in my heart I did the right thing the second time I let
her go. I gave her back to a family who loved her for 19 years and wanted that
job back. Life evolves, circumstances change. Nothing is guaranteed to be
forever, except death.
Our home is much quieter now. The
two Macaws call back and forth at times but the volume is not as grand as the
Moluccan Cockatoo. I'm glad I had the experience of living with Tangy the
Moluccan, one of the loudest of the parrot groups for four years. I just remind
myself, Tangy is one of the adaptable parrots who went back to a home with
people to love & care for her.
