A Dogs Love

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.

You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful

and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be

worthy of such devotion."- Unknown 

Meet Stray Moon, a 4 year old, male, brindle boxer. 

,

"Is this what REAL love feels like?"

Over the last few weeks, for part of my internship at Best Friends, I had the honor to work with this beautiful dog. Stray Moon is full of life and always ready to go for a hike or just give you warm, sloppy kisses. He has such an eagerness to please anyone he meets, it's a shame to see him without a real home and loving family. 

"You coming?"

"Car rides! I LOVE car rides!"

I've been working with him on clicker training and he's been able to catch on quickly. Some of his tricks include: Sit, shake, down, stay, come, etc. With continued training, his skills and obedience will only excel. I've taken him on many outings and he's very well behaved with loose leash walking. Most of the time he's heeling, but if he walks a few steps ahead, he'll constantly look back to check on you.  

"We'll be best friends, forever."

One of the reasons I chose Stray Moon to be my project dog is because he's already highly adoptable and only needs minimal basic training skills. My true passion lies with parrots. We have the option of choosing another project animal(s) from other areas, so I chose two parrots that have extreme social issues. Their stories are next :)

"I promise to keep you warm."

Will you be the one that changes his life?

"My last family gave up on me. I'll never give up on you, ever."

He is ready to find his forever home.

CLICK HERE TO ADOPT ME!! :)  

Made With Love :)

Stacie giving Peaches his foraging box

Getting Crafty!

Parrots are natural foragers in the wild, so when they’re caged for a good majority of the day, it is wise to offer them an adequate supply of toys. Buying bird toys from a pet store can be very costly if your parrot shreds/destroys its toys within a few days.

Ruby playing peek-a-boo

So, why not save yourself some money and make your own? One of my biggest concerns about making homemade toys is whether or not certain items contain toxins or other harmful chemicals. When searching for potential items, make sure you’re positive they don’t have toxic coatings. If you have any doubt that it may contain anything harmful, don't buy it. It's always best not to risk your parrots health.

Lollipop enjoying his box

I'm discovering many great and simple toy ideas from the workers of Parrot Garden that I will take with me when I return back to Michigan (My babies will be so pleased!) Stacie, one of the amazing parrot caregivers (featured in the top picture), listed off multiple, everyday items that can be safely used for bird toys.

Houdini posing with his phonebook

 
Here are some examples:

-Natural wicker

-Pinecones

-Boxes (Remove tape/stickers. Check for glue)

-Plastic buttons/beads (NOT glass)

-Wine corks (Wine remnants okay. The intention is to chew, not eat)

-Phonebooks/Newspaper

-Strips of fleece/fabric or an old t-shirt

-Tissue boxes

-Toilet paper/paper towel rolls (Check for glue)
-Paper plates/cups/bags

-Wood blocks (Nontoxic paint)

-Baby toys
-Straws

     

When trying to assemble these pieces together, the safest material to use is natural twine. A lot of household ropes are coated with wax, glue, and/or other harmful toxins that can harm your parrot.

 

The picture on the left is of natural wicker rings that birds love to tear apart. Stacie told me that a lot of thrift stores have wicker items for very cheap. But, make sure there's nothing painted/coated on them.

A great way to encourage your parrot to forage:

Take a paper bag (big or small) and stuff it with crinkled phone book paper, add a new or favorite toy (wooden block, wicker, etc), and their favorite treats (nuts, etc). All you need to do is fold the end shut and put it anywhere in their cage.

Above are two examples of foraging bags where the materials needed are very inexpensive (free bags from grocery stores) and easy to assemble. Sure, they're not appealing to the eye, but parrots do not care. Their main mission is to tear it apart and find toys/treats. A great majority of the parrots at Best Friends go crazy over simple toys like this and spend hours playing in and chewing up boxes. Just ask King O what his favorite thing to do is! 

"HELLLLLOOOOOOO!!"

Pictured below is an example of fabric toys. This is simply strips of fleece with random knots throughout. This type of toy is very easy and basically free to make if you have some old t-shirts or blankets lying around. 

Playful Parrots:

In the picture below, shows a great example of how parrots can keep busy by tearing apart a phonebook! This means of entertainment comes at no cost since these books are FREE, and who doesn't LOVE free stuff? This is in the cage of the two male umbrella cockatoos, Clancy and Sugar. Notice how one of them weaseled his way into the picture? I can't help but laugh at his creeping eye!

Always make sure to stay creative, your parrot will appreciate it!

Say 'NO' To Impulse Buying

A lot of people fall victim to buying a product on impulse when something new or shiny catches their eye. Do any of these sound familiar?

“OH, look at these heels. I don’t care how bad they’ll hurt my feet, I MUST have them!”

“25% off this flat screen TV? I already have 4, but it’s a steal!”

“These earrings are so sparkly! I’ll just split the cost between two credit cards.”

Sure, it seems like the right decision at the time, but ask yourself this: "Do I really need it?" Most of the time that "must have" product gets pushed aside or stored away in the closet with the other things bought on a whim.

But when someone buys an animal on impulse, it becomes a different situation. You simply cannot tuck away a puppy or kitten just because it gets bigger, or decides it wants to eat or claw up your furniture.

Phase 1: "Oh my God, it’s SO cute and fluffy. I want it now!!”

[Yes, I too fall victim to the cuteness, BUT I didn't buy them! I'm one of the biggest animal lovers ever, so if I can resist, so can you! ]

[Baby guinea pigs]

 Phase 2: "This animal is annoying me.."/"Why can't you stay small?!"

 The second these animals grow up or cause problems: BOOM, unwanted.

Phase 3: "How in the heck can I get rid of this pain in the @$$?"

In the past, I’ve adopted an array of pets from various friends and individuals throughout the years simply because they get tired of caring for these animals. After taking 3 animals from one of my college friends because they got older (two mice and a bunny), she purchased a snugly baby hamster... (%$@!). When she was sick of it, she asked if I wanted it. I felt like I had to take a stand and decline. Well, she ended up tossing the hamster outside to die. I felt awful, but it was too late, and I simply couldn't take in anymore pets.

I believe before anyone decides to adopt or purchase an animal, they should take a few days to consider all the possibilities of what could go wrong. Go to an animal shelter and try FOSTERING an animal before making a rash decision. By fostering a cat or dog it enables you to see what issues may arise and if there's things you cannot handle, simply return them! Also, do some research on the type of pet you want. Reading up on the pros and cons can definitely help aid in making a decision.

Here Goes Nothing!!

Back in November, I received an email from Best Friends Animal Society stating that I got the animal care internship in Kanab, Utah. I was over the moon happy, for animals are my life, especially parrots.

                                                            Meet My Babies :)

Babygirl [Baby] and Sunshine [Sunny] !



Prince Theodore [Teddi] and King Leonidas [Leo] :) Hehe

After many weeks of deciding on how I would travel to Utah, I finally chose to drive down with my boyfriend, Martin, who would then fly back to Michigan once we reached our destination. We left Marquette, MI on January, 20th, and between the both of us, we drove 25.5 hours straight before stopping in Eagle, CO. From lack of sleep I felt a little crazed, hyped up on excessive amounts of caffeine and a mix of nerves and adrenaline. It took us almost 8 more hours to reach Kanab, UT. But, when we did, I was washed over with relief.


Throughout the last week, I was able to rotate through each animal department and learn general animal care for each area, which are:
--Horse Haven
--Piggy Paradise
--Dog Town
--Cat World
--Parrot Garden
--Wild Friends
--Bunny House/Rabbit Rescue Village


Coming  into this internship, my heart was set on working with just parrots, but after a while, each area started to grow on me. When I finally had to make a decision, I chose to concentrate on parrots (of course), but also work with cats.
One of our intern assignments is doing an individual project, other than our project animal(s). So, I chose to blog about parrots! There are a few topics that I will be blogging about that I feel are of great concern. I think it's vital to educate everyone on proper animal care and management. This is my first time blogging, so here goes nothing :) .