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- 2/22/17
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- 1,780
This isn't related to any of my babies, but something we deal with at the store. We have 2 macaws that have been boarding with us for over 2 years. We do sometimes get long-term boarders but it's usually a few months at a time, not years. First, it was... oh we had something happen at home and the birds need to be out of the house while it's repaired. Then some other thing happened and they need to stay longer. Oh, we're going to travel and they can stay there while we're gone. Now it's, we're just not ready to have them home yet. We'll pick them up at the end of July, then it was December, then July of the next year. It's been more than 2 years. They come in or call once a month to pay the bill, but they don't visit the birds. One of them is in his 60s and started declining a few months ago. We've given him supplements and high-energy foods to keep his weight up, but he's an old bird. He's had a long and good life, but now he's dying. The owner finally came to see him one-day last week and only because we called them and said they needed to come to see him because he wouldn't be with us for more than another week if they were lucky. They sat there and made a big production with their tears over a bird they haven't seen in 2 years and then they left with no instructions or plans for what to do when he does pass.
This morning we moved him from a large macaw cage into a double stack cage that is safer for him. We padded the bottom and removed the toys so they don't block him if he moves around. He's stopped drinking and eats very little during the day. At this point, all we can do is make him comfortable. We discussed one of us taking him home tonight so he can pass quietly with someone by his side but the travel itself would probably kill him. Taking him to the vet for humane euthanasia is no longer an option because he would most likely pass before we got there, and the owner hasn't given us permission to do so. I'm heartbroken that we're going to lose such a sweet bird, and I'm trying not to be judgemental over this, but they haven't visited these birds in over 2 years, and I'm really angry about it. I expect he will pass sometime during the night, but at least he's in a familiar space and surrounded by birds that he knows. It's going to make for a difficult day.
This morning we moved him from a large macaw cage into a double stack cage that is safer for him. We padded the bottom and removed the toys so they don't block him if he moves around. He's stopped drinking and eats very little during the day. At this point, all we can do is make him comfortable. We discussed one of us taking him home tonight so he can pass quietly with someone by his side but the travel itself would probably kill him. Taking him to the vet for humane euthanasia is no longer an option because he would most likely pass before we got there, and the owner hasn't given us permission to do so. I'm heartbroken that we're going to lose such a sweet bird, and I'm trying not to be judgemental over this, but they haven't visited these birds in over 2 years, and I'm really angry about it. I expect he will pass sometime during the night, but at least he's in a familiar space and surrounded by birds that he knows. It's going to make for a difficult day.