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Life has been busy! I’m on my own this week, so my time and my schedule. I signed up for lots of volunteering, and it has been great! I started the week volunteering as an usher at my local theater. I get to see a great show for free, and I get to hang out and chat with lots of nice people!

Of course most of my volunteering is centered on animals!

Foster bird Kanga is still at my house, but on Monday I also volunteered at the shelter to help take care of the birds that are still there. Lots of macaws! They are big and beautiful, and their beaks are more than a little scary, but I love them. I cleaned them up, topped off their food and rinsed out their water. I talked to them, played music for them, played Peek-a-boo with some, and did Knock-Knock jokes with another. He likes to bang his beak on the top of his cage when you say “Knock Knock” and then he laughs when you ask “Who’s there?”

Speaking of birds, Kanga is doing great! He’s really a sweet boy. He has new feathers growing in under his wing, and I think they are itchy because he loves to lift his wing and ask for scratches. I know you aren’t supposed to pat birds anywhere but their  heads, but he is hard to resist! I’m very careful to just give him a couple of quick rubs under his wing. For anyone new to birds, some birds get a little “lovey” when you pat their bodies, so it usually isn’t recommended.

Love to see all these new feathers!

This morning was a little bit traumatic for K. He really needed his nails trimmed, so we took a visit back to the shelter. He flew when he saw me pull out a towel this morning, but once he landed he stepped right up on my hand and let me put him right into the carrier. I filled the carrier with wood blocks for him to destroy, and Nutriberries, his favorite treat! He was a little nervous in the car, but not too bad. He was happy enough to munch on his Nutriberries as long as I kept chatting with him. He got noticeably nervous when we got the shelter and he heard all the other birds screaming, but he did great for his nail trim, and he was very calm on the way home.

After a quick couple of bites of breakfast when we got home, he was ready for a nap!

I find it fascinating that even with Kanga and Hector D. Byrd having cages right next to each other, they haven’t been interested in each other at all. They could easily hop onto each other’s cages if they wanted to, but they don’t seem to even acknowledge each other.

Last night I volunteered at another shelter to help take care of some puppies. The weather was beautiful and we played outside in the yard and even attempted going for a walk. One little puppy in particular really stole my heart. It was very hard not bringing her home to foster, but I kinda have my hands full with Kanga.

This is Hope, available for adoption from Mary’s Dogs. She’s got adorable stubby legs, and she is so sweet!

I also got to spend time with these adorable “cow” girls. Nothing like spending time with cuddly, soft, warm, puppies! These two are also available for adoption from Mary’s, and they have a whole new batch of puppies coming in on Friday!

Unfortunately, Cali doesn’t really like riding in the car anymore. I don’t know why. She used to ride everywhere with me, now she gets super nervous. She won’t get in the car anymore. I have to pick her up and put her on the seat.

Maybe with all the trips to the vet for her laser treatments she will get used to it again. She started laser on Monday and had another appointment today. It’s a little hard to tell how she is doing since she can’t tell me, but I do feel like the treatments are helping. She has been using her back leg a bit more. I plan to do 7 treatments total, their recommended starter series, and we’ll see how she does. She went twice this week and will go twice again next week, and then once a week for the remainder of the visits. Hopefully by the end of that she will be using her leg more.

The new Dr. Harvey’s food mix is still something Cali has been enjoying! Amazing considering how tough it has been to find a low protein/kidney friendly diet for her. I’m waiting for their customer service people to call me. They offer a free telephone consultation to help me create the best diet for Cali using their food mix. They actually tried to call me today, but I was at the vet and couldn’t take the call. Hopefully I can talk to them soon.

I had to cancel volunteering with the birds this afternoon so I can get some work done since I had to bring Kanga for the nail trim this morning. Saturday night I’ll be heading back to Mary’s Dogs to help out and meet all the new puppies that come in on Friday! Of course I love my own pets, but I also love getting the chance to work with other animals as much as I can.

Puck wasn’t happy about being in the car, but he and Bean had their annual check ups last week.

Both cats did great, no problems. The vet had trouble finding skin to give Bean his rabies shot, so much hair!

Who else volunteers with animals? What kind of animals do you like to work with? Leave a message in the comments and let me know.

Good night Puck! Have a nice nap!

 

Just realizing that K is really changing since he has been here. I think he is starting to feel a bit more confident. He is less excited about me patting him, he’s stopped flying all over the place, and he is spending more time in his cage even with his door open.

He is super destructive. He is already working on the replacement perch I put on his door. He chewed through his rope perch that was in the middle of his cage, and he has destroyed several toys.

Unlike Hector who prefers to destroy cardboard, K loves to chew up wood. He could definitely get a job manufacturing toothpicks!

Considering how much he seems to be changing every day, I’m not pushing him right now. I talk to him all the time, hand feed him treats, and pat him here and there when he seems open to it. I’m also providing an endless supply of wood for him to chew up.

I’ve added a ceramic heat lamp for him at night, and he really seems to like that. He was right under it the morning when I uncovered his cage. Although he doesn’t look like a feather plucker at first glance, his back and under his wings are pretty bald. I’m hoping to see some new growth as he settles in here.

Diet is something we are working on. He doesn’t love the fresh chop I make, or really any fresh fruits or veggies. He does eat his pellets really well. I’m doing what I did with Hector when I got her, and feeding them both chop in the morning, and then refilling pellets in the afternoon. He has been checking out the chop each morning and usually throws a bunch of it out of the bowl. I actually just looked over now and I think he is eating some chop, so that’s great! He always has some pellets in his bowl, but not a fresh bowl until later in the day. I’m trying to encourage him to check out the chop, and offering snacks of fresh fruits and veggies throughout the day.

My husband has been able to hand feed him treats which is progress. I still can’t believe when my son tried to give him a treat a few days ago that he put up his little foot like he wanted to step up, then grabbed my son’s finger and tried to bite him!

The cats were very curious about the new roommate at first, but no longer seem at all interested. Cali only cares about him when he flies and thankfully that hasn’t been happening as often.

Speaking of Cali, she was still not using her hurt leg very much when I got home from vacation a few days ago. I called the vet and they suggested she might need more pain medicine. We added a new medicine in the evening on top of the med she was already taking in the mornings and it seems to be helping. She isn’t using her leg all the time, but she is doing much better getting around, and she just in general seems happier. She’ll go back for a check up in a couple of weeks.

 

I have a hard time saying No. It’s a fact. I really like to help out, and I definitely over commit myself at times.

Most recently I’ve been helping out a local shelter with a bunch of parrots that are on a safe hold. The parrots were just cleared to go to foster, so of course I had to volunteer. There were a couple of the birds that I had really enjoyed spending time with when I was volunteering, but of course those were everyone’s favorites and they went to foster while I was away on vacation.

I went to the shelter yesterday to see what they still needed. I kinda wanted to foster a macaw because it seems like a limited opportunity. I’d never go out and get a bird like that myself, but to have one as a foster was very tempting. As soon as I walked into the room with the macaws yesterday, I knew that was a bad idea! They are so loud!

This guy was one I hadn’t spent a ton of time with at the shelter, but I knew him, and I spent some time with him yesterday. He’s a bit shy, but very sweet. He takes treats from my hand and already lets me scratch his head. This morning, I picked him up and brought him home!

 

So far he is settling in really well. He did almost chew through his carrier on the way home, but we made it without him escaping in the car. I can’t imagine trying to explain to my husband that the parrot ate his car seat or dashboard!

Once we made it home, I put him in the shower for safety while I got his cage set up. I’ve got him near Hector, but not quite close enough to touch. They would have to work really hard to get to each other’s cages. Hector was very curious, but quickly went back to destroying a new cardboard box in her cage. K seems to have little or no interest in Hector. 

As soon as he got in his new cage, the very first thing he did was empty both of his food bowls! He yells “Hey” in a cute little voice whenever I leave the room for a minute, but so far there hasn’t been any screaming. He showed me that he can fly and followed me into another room, but thankfully he stepped right up on my hand and let me bring him back to his cage.

Just a couple of hours after being here, he seems very comfortable in and out of his cage. He’s eating, grooming, and even playing with some toys. I hope he continues to settle in easily! My plan is to give him a couple of days to settle and then start working on him with a consistent step up. Stayed tuned for more foster parrot updates soon!

Things are pretty quiet around here. I’m still expecting to see Logan when I walk in to certain rooms. I got a lovely card from my vet yesterday with the wood token in the above picture. So sweet. Today I’ll be heading to the vet to pick up Logan’s remains. Never a fun trip, but closure.

My son was home last weekend with his cat, Martin, so we got the three crazy boy cats running around and getting into things all weekend, fun!

I’m not fostering right now. I’ve got a trip coming up, and with Cali still recovering, it didn’t feel like the right time. I have been volunteering at a local animal shelter and taking care of a bunch of parrots. It has been so fun! I’ve realized that as beautiful as macaws are, they are huge birds, and I much rather play with cockatoos and of course my own African Grey. There is something really scary about the beak of a macaw!

I’m getting a chance to spend a lot of quality time with some cockatoos, and I just love them! One tiny little Goffin’s Cockatoo is a real clown. He escapes from his cage, loves to get down on the floor and run, and also does these funny swings from the top of his cage down the side and back up, like little birds circles. Another doesn’t want to be picked up, but loves head scratches. If I turn away from him to visit another bird he says “Scratches” in this sweet little baby voice until I come over and rub his head.

I’ll be taking care of my Dad’s dogs this weekend. Two Portuguese Water Dogs, one is still a puppy. Should be fun! Looking forward to getting in some weekend puppy time! I hope we have nice weather so we can get outdoors.

Heading out of town next week, so there may be a break before my next update. I’m thankful that I have an amazing friend that will take care of Cali while we travel. She’s going to be a little extra work with her leg injury.

Anyone else vacationing soon? What do you do with your pets when you travel? Leave a message and let me know!

Just when things seemed to be calming down for Logan, Cali starts limping. I put her out yesterday afternoon. I’m not sure what happened, but when I called her to come in, she was just sitting in the driveway. When she tried to come to me, I noticed she wasn’t putting any weight on her back right leg. I didn’t think too much about it. I assumed it was cold or she got some snow in it. I scooped her up and brought her in the house and washed all her paws with nice warm water.

It didn’t help. She was still limping and not putting much weight on it at all. I gave her some CBD, wrapped her in a blanket and let her sleep. I was hoping she would be better this morning, but she wasn’t.

I cancelled all my plans for the day and was able to get her in to the vet this morning. Unfortunately, it’s not good news. They are pretty sure she tore a ligament, similar to a human tearing their ACL, it’s basically what poor Cali did.

Unfortunately, they don’t want to do surgery. She has a heart murmur and kidney issues, and they feel that operating may cause worse problems than the knee. The vet says to keep her quiet and see how she does as she heals. She’s on pain meds and a joint supplement. Poor baby.

Poor pup, she is so miserable, but the pain meds do seem to be bringing her some relief. I guess we’ll see how she does over the next couple of weeks.

The good news from the vet visit is that she hasn’t lost any weight. I’ve been worried because she really doesn’t seem to like any of the Kidney diet foods I’ve tried with her. I’ve been mixing some regular dog food in with the prescription food which isn’t the best for her kidneys, but She’s too little to lose much weight. I guess she is eating enough to maintain herself at least, so that’s something.

Any one else have a dog with a torn ligament? Did you opt for surgery? Share your experiences in the comments, I’d love to learn more.