Nightmare

I was not supposed to volunteer at the rescue this weekend, but when we got home on Saturday, we had a message on our machine asking us to come up and take pictures of some birds that had been surrendered.

I can't get into too many details and don't even want to say what kind of birds or how many, but it was quite possibly the most horrific evidence of animal neglect/abuse I have ever seen. And I have seen quite a lot come through here. I had a hard time falling asleep Saturday night, and cannot get the images out of my mind.

I started crying immediately upon seeing these poor, vulnerable creatures, leaving Thomas to take the pictures. I grabbed out my favorite parrot that's currently at the rescue. He tried his hardest to comfort me, as he kept making his loud kiss sound. One of the residents started asking, "What's the matter?" as he does whenever anyone is upset around him. I reassured him that he was safe and things are OK. They are so empathetic.

I really hope that these guys can be saved with proper care and love. While it's quite possible I'm projecting, the pain I saw in their eyes was almost unbearable. I will never understand how people can treat these magnificent creatures so poorly.

As you might expect, this experience put into perspective the problems we've been having with Rocky. When we got home, I gave all willing parrots extra attention (I made Thomas give Rocky extra attention!) and treats. I also realized that I need to be more patient with Rocky. I don't know if he sensed the difference in my attitude, but he was very pleasant all day Sunday, with only normal amounts of screaming.