I hope this brings as much comfort to others as it did me
So to explain, during a very traumatic, sad and stressful time in my life, I had my tabby cat for comfort, Twix. He was very docile, snuggly and never hurt anyone his whole life. Unfortunately, when that traumatic time ended, he crossed the rainbow bridge. He had a blockage and passed 4 hours before the emergency vet appointment. I was distraught, lost and alone. So I turned to watching Bob Ross for comfort. I had previously watched Steve Irwin and loved him.
Fast forward 4 years, the loss of is still painful. But picture this. Steve Irwin and Bob Ross guarding the rainbow bridge and looking after the animals who cross it. Steve caring for the less understood animals (spiders, snakes, alligators etc) and Bob caring for the ‘cuter’ ones (birds, deers, cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels).
Really picture it. Imagine if a beloved pet started to cross.
“Wow. Just look at all that fur.”
“What a sweetheart! I think this one’s for you, mate!”
“What’s your name? Fluffy? Oh that’s a good name. Well, Fluffy, we’ll take great care of you until your owner comes to get you. Would you like to see a painting? It’s got lots of happy little trees in it.”
(Now picture a crocodile crossing)
“I think this big fella might be for you, Steve.”
“Oh wow! What a beauty- look at that tail! Oh I love ‘em!”
(Tiny chick wanders over)
“So small, I don’t wanna hurt you so we’ll be very gentle. Look at your cute little face. I’d like to keep you but that wouldn’t be fair. You’re meant to have a duck mommy. I got one over here, she won’t be lonely now. There..”
I hope this brings as much comfort to others as it did me
So to explain, during a very traumatic, sad and stressful time in my life, I had my tabby cat for comfort, Twix. He was very docile, snuggly and never hurt anyone his whole life. Unfortunately, when that traumatic time ended, he crossed the rainbow bridge. He had a blockage and passed 4 hours before the emergency vet appointment. I was distraught, lost and alone. So I turned to watching Bob Ross for comfort. I had previously watched Steve Irwin and loved him.
Fast forward 4 years, the loss of is still painful. But picture this. Steve Irwin and Bob Ross guarding the rainbow bridge and looking after the animals who cross it. Steve caring for the less understood animals (spiders, snakes, alligators etc) and Bob caring for the ‘cuter’ ones (birds, deers, cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels).
Really picture it. Imagine if a beloved pet started to cross.
“Wow. Just look at all that fur.”
“What a sweetheart! I think this one’s for you, mate!”
“What’s your name? Fluffy? Oh that’s a good name. Well, Fluffy, we’ll take great care of you until your owner comes to get you. Would you like to see a painting? It’s got lots of happy little trees in it.”
(Now picture a crocodile crossing)
“I think this big fella might be for you, Steve.”
“Oh wow! What a beauty- look at that tail! Oh I love 'em!”
(Tiny chick wanders over)
“So small, I don’t wanna hurt you so we’ll be very gentle. Look at your cute little face. I’d like to keep you but that wouldn’t be fair. You’re meant to have a duck mommy. I got one over here, she won’t be lonely now. There..”
The above birds are cute right? But no, they are not crows. They are baby buff banded rails, and the circulation that they are otherwise is becoming annoying. Want to see a real baby crow?
Not as cute, huh. Notice how fluffy and soft the rails are, and how not the crows are? That’s because there are two ways birth happens. The first being altricial, which means you’re born helpless and naked, or precocial, which means you’re born fully feathered or furred and are ready from day one. Big difference. Now then, onto the final corvid correction. Presumably you have seen this image?
Although Leucistic ravens thrive less than black ravens, they are NOT bullied or eaten by their mothers for it. Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in animals. Leucistic birds lack melanin pigment in their plumage due to melanin cell production being absent. Albinism is an absence of tyrosinase in pigment cells, and also inhibits red/pink eyes.
Here’s a slightly old photo of Mako from my last shoot, to hold you guys over until I’m back in SoCal and can get some more pics together! Currently home on the east coast for the holiday, but I have a friend checking in on my cats, the fish, and my newest addition - a budgie. Found on the streets of LA. Story and photos to come on that….
Can we drop the idea that if a pet isn’t a dog or cat it’s not worthy of love? People who own these pets - fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds, small mammals - love their animals just as much as cat and dog owners love theirs. They put just as much attention and love and care into their animals as dog and cat owners put into theirs.
I have cats, but I’ve also had hamsters, fish, invertebrates, insects, frogs, and bunnies. Currently I keep axolotls and a crested gecko in addition to my cats. The amount of people who act like my axolotls and gecko don’t exist, or aren’t “real” pets compared to my cats, is nuts. I’ve had people tell me my pets are gross, ugly, disgusting, slimy. I’ve had them harass me over their food being gross or disgusting or slimy. I’ve had people tell me my pets should just be released into the woods rather than me spending money on their care, or ask me why I bother taking them to the vet, or “joke” about eating them. I’ve had some flat out tell me they shouldn’t be alive or taking up space in the house or life. When they died, I’ve had people ask me why I’m sad or tell me I shouldn’t be.
What the fuck is wrong with you? These are my pets and I love them just as much as my cats. When I worked at a pet store, I heard all the same sentiments expressed by customers. That’s fucking disgusting.
Look, if someone has a pet you don’t vibe with, just don’t fucking interact with that pet. If you’re afraid of dogs and your friend is telling you about something their dog did, do you interrupt and say “Your dog should be killed?” Why do people think this is acceptable behavior if the animal isn’t a dog or cat?
Fucking support people and what they love. My best friend keeps tarantulas, which I am terrified of. The only thing I’ve ever said about it is not to text me pictures of them. I let her gush about them because even though they’re not my cup of tea, she LOVES them. It’s not that fucking hard. If you can’t even do that, NICELY tell the person, “Hey I don’t really like X, can we talk about something else?”
Don’t fucking tell them their pets should die or not be alive and don’t insult the animal just because you don’t like them.
The above birds are cute right? But no, they are not crows. They are baby buff banded rails, and the circulation that they are otherwise is becoming annoying. Want to see a real baby crow?
Not as cute, huh. Notice how fluffy and soft the rails are, and how not the crows are? That’s because there are two ways birth happens. The first being altricial, which means you’re born helpless and naked, or precocial, which means you’re born fully feathered or furred and are ready from day one. Big difference. Now then, onto the final corvid correction. Presumably you have seen this image?
Although Leucistic ravens thrive less than black ravens, they are NOT bullied or eaten by their mothers for it. Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in animals. Leucistic birds lack melanin pigment in their plumage due to melanin cell production being absent. Albinism is an absence of tyrosinase in pigment cells, and also inhibits red/pink eyes.
Aaah hey guys! I’m very excited to have finally gotten around to more actively pursuing my behavior consultant goals. I’ve been, slowly and to my best ability, working towards eventually becoming a parrot behavior consultant since I started animal husbandry/zookeeping school in 2013. I have been taking more specific classes and attending conferences for a year or two, and taking on a few clients/behavior cases whenever I’ve felt comfortable to do so! Now that I have a lot more time I’m finally able to start taking on a few more clients. In order to one day become a Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant I’m going to need lots of consulting experience, meaning that the experience itself is the most value I get out of helping people with their parrots at this point. That, combined with the fact that I’m still a non-certified new kid, means that I’m definitely not asking for a lot of money! More info about that here.
So - if you have a parrot with any sort of problem behavior (any degree of problem; it doesn’t have to be severe to look for help) that you’d like help with figuring out and handling - I’d love to help! To learn more, visit my about page and then click through to the consultations page.
