puppyeyes

We have all heard stories about pets becoming food. It’s pretty true that ” food” is also a subjective term the same as ” pet”.  Little girls can lovingly pet giant rats, and eat iguana soup.

Once, when I was living in Ecuador I was told I would be treated to an amazing and expensive dish. They told me it the healthiest kind of meat as it was purely fed on herbs People gave such a great spin that I agreed to eat this expensive twenty dollar dish.  In came people with a spit and tied claws with what looked like a huge rat with enormous teeth protruding out.  I was incredibly horrified until they showed me what they really were : Guinea pigs.   Because everyone was watching , I had to take a bite. However , the whole time I was thinking : This is someone’s pet poor little thing should be spinning in a wheel somewhere.

What makes a pet and what makes dinner? The answer, as cheesy as it sounds is whether we love them or not. Loving an animal humanizes them in ways that they would never be otherwise. It gives them eyes and personality, and you care when and how they die.  It’s reflections like these which makes me want to become a vegetarian.

I had another parrot named Dawn who was supposed to be the companion for Mad Max.  Females parrots have a tendency to be less flashy and very rarely talk.  Dawn was never satsified with being in her cage and I strongly suspect that she had come directly from the wild.

In order to keep the bird’s inside the cage and not fly away, you have to clip their wings. Clipping a parrots wings is not that hard considering they fit in the palm of your hand and are pretty gentle twoards their owners.

Parrots have a tendency to perch themselves on one of your fingres and happily be there for hours.  However, if you do not clip their wings they might fly away

We had Dawn for several weeks when my mother clipped her wings and a series of events happened which for some reason we forgot to clip her wings again.

One day the cage was left open so that we could clean the inside and Dawn flew away. I watched her go and i thought it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw . I watched her till she dissolved in the distance.  I always wondered what became of her, and if she led a good life. Whenever I looked at the sunsets and watched the birds flying past me, I always wondered if she was a part of that. I hope she was and that she led a full and wonderful life.

In continuing with my theme of parrots, I would like to take the time to let you know about these beautiful birds.  The birds vary from place to place however the ones I knew were  a bright green colour, and the males had an orange stripe at the  top.

As I said before these birds are slowly becoming endangered over the illegal smuggling of the birds into American pet shops. Their little legs are tied and their beaks are binded, and some do not survive the periless journey. When they are left in pet shops without the proper care many end up dying. It is quite sad and common phenomenom.

According to wikipedia :

10,000 Hyacinth Macaws were taken from the wild for the pet trade in the 1980s.^[25]

The popularity of parrots as pets has led to a thriving - and often illegal - trade in the birds, and some species are now threatened with extinction. A combination of trapping of wild birds and damage to parrot habitats makes survival difficult or even impossible for some species of parrot.

The trade continues unabated in some countries. A report published in January 2007 presents a clear picture of the wild-caught parrot trade in Mexico, stating: “The majority of parrots captured in Mexico stay in the country for the domestic trade. A small percentage of this capture, 4% to 14%, is smuggled into the USA.”^[26]

The scale of the problem can be seen in the Tony Silva case of 1996, in which a parrot expert and former director at Tenerife’s Loro Parque (Europe’s largest parrot park) was jailed in the United States for 82 months and fined $100,000 for smuggling Hyacinth Macaws.^[27] (Such birds command a very high price.) The case led to calls for greater protection and control over trade in the birds. Different nations have different methods of handling internal and international trade. Australia has banned the export of its native birds since 1960. The United States protects its only native parrot through its Endangered Species Act, and protects other nations’ birds through its Wild Bird Conservation Act. Following years of campaigning by hundreds of NGOs and outbreaks of avian flu, in July 2007, the European Union halted the importation of all wild birds with a permanent ban on their import. Prior to an earlier temporary ban started in late October 2005, the EU was importing approximately two million live birds a year, about 90% of the international market: hundreds of thousands of these were parrots. There are no national laws protecting feral parrot populations in the USA. Mexico has a licensing system for capturing and selling native birds (though the laws are not well enforced). “

It goes on to say about endangered species :

“A large number of parrot species are in decline, and several species are now extinct. Of the 350 or so living species of parrot 130 species are listed as near threatened or worse by the IUCN.^[32] There are numerous reasons for the decline of so many species, the principal threats being habitat loss, hunting, and for some species, wild-bird trade. Parrots are persecuted for a number of reasons; in some areas they may (or have been) hunted for food, for feathers, and as agricultural pests. For a time, Argentina offered a bounty on quaker parakeets (an agricultural pest), resulting in hundred of thousands of birds being killed, though apparently this did not greatly affect the overall population [1]. Capture for the pet trade is a threat to many of the rarer or slower to breed species. Habitat loss or degradation, most often for agriculture, is a threat to numerous parrot species. Parrots, being cavity nesters, are vulnerable to the loss of nesting sites and to competition with introduced species for those sites. The loss of old trees is particularly a problem in some areas, particularly in Australia where suitable nesting trees may be many hundreds of years old. Many parrot species occur only on islands and are |vulnerable to introduced species such as rats and cats, as they lack the appropriate anti-predator behaviours needed to deal with mammalian predators. Controlling such predators can help in maintaining or increasing the numbers of endangered species.^[33] Insular species, which have small populations in restricted habitat, are also vulnerable to physical threats such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions.

Trade, export and import of all wild-caught parrots is regulated and only permitted under special licensed circumstances in countries party to CITES, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, that came into force in 1975 to regulate the international trade of all endangered wild caught animal and plant species. In 1975, 24 parrot species were included on Appendix I of CITES, thus prohibiting commercial international trade in these birds. Since that initial listing, continued threats from international trade have lead CITES to add an additional 32 parrot varieties to Appendix I, including nine in the last four years. All the other parrot species are protected on Appendix II of CITES. In addition, individual countries may have laws to regulate trade in certain species.

There are many active conservation groups whose goal is the co Trust, an international organization. The group gives assistance to worthwhile projects as well as producing a magazine and raising funds through donations and memberships. They state they have helped conservation work in 22 countries. On a smaller scale local parrot clubs (or hookbill clubs as they’re called,) will raise money to donate to a cause of conservation. Zoo and wildlife centers usually provide public education to change  public conception “

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This is a great problem that people do not find the time to protect these inncoent creatures.  What can you do? First of all keep informed and try your best to not buy parrots from pet stores unless you are sure they have not been smuggled in illegally.

Secondly,  you can hold local conservation events or contact reputable charities who will assist you some of them are :

The World Parrot Trust, an international organization.

or www.parrot.org

Whatever you do , please be aware that if we don’t do something soon these birds who are one of the only animals to mimic human speech , may be gone from our world forever.

When I was growing up in El Salvador we used to have a parakeet named Mad Max.

Parakeets, or periquitos, are bright green birds who tend to speak and do crazy things. My first bird used to scream exactly like me which would make my mother come frantically looking for me just to find a gleeful parakeet. Mad max could also play soccer with my tic tac toe ball and would run around the house playing with it. He also had a weird tendency to eat tortilla dough and chicken ( which technically made him a cannibal)…

He was a weird and quirky bird and he was one of many. Everyday on sunset the sky would be filled with these lovely birds and you could hear their screeching as they went towards the dying sun.  Today you are lucky if you see ten or twenty. These beautiful birds are becoming extinct because of the senseless and illegal trafficking to the United States.  I am dedicating this week to Mad Max and all those other beautiful birds out there.

We here awesome stories about dogs saving the day…but ever wonder about cats? Or even kittens? The only story I can remember is of my cat snowball and my puppy Freddy.

Freddy was busily chewing his bone gleefully his cocker spaniel ears bobbing up and down.My little baby brother came in and took the bone right from under the dog’s nose. Freddy, trying to protect his bone when after my baby brother. I quickly took my brother away and safe from harm. I started to reprimand the dog , and he looked angry and was about to attack me, and then out of nowhere Snowball swooped in and ninja slashed Freddy saving me from an attack.  It was unreal.

There are countless stories of cat and dog loyalty, and it remains to be seen if we can properly repay these lovely animals.

I love my cat sassy, and when I move to England I will be absurdly depressed if I have to leave her behind ( six months quarantine doesn’t really seem an ideal situation for a kitty…)

But my first cat will always be the one closest to my heart. The same goes for my first dog. It’s just something that happens when a child owns their first pet. Magic happens, as kid and pet look eachother in the eye and say : It’s you and me kid.

My fondest memory was with my first dog Geena. When i look at the faded picture, my then blonde hair blending in with hers, our smiles facing the sunlight I feel the same nostalgic feeling for that dog. She was a beautiful golden retriever who followed me everywhere . She was faithful and funny and had a tendency to lift up her paw whenever she wanted something. My beautiful dog used to wait for me whenever I wanted something from her. However, when we moved to Latin America we were forced to give her to our grandmother. It was a sad decision, but she led a beautiful life next to a lake and two very loving owners. Still, it still breaks my heart when I remember saying goodbye to her.

My beautiful dog, who would follow me when I wandered off ( which I had a tendency to always do), who watched over my crib when I was born lived a long life. She died of cancer at the ripe old age of 12.

My first cat was given to me the first day I arrived in El Salvador. She was a white little ball of fur and my first friend in a foreign land. Her little meowing was oddly comforting in the days ahead. Somehow this cat became symbolic of my childhood in a war torn land. A long journey which is best explored at another time…

Childhood and pets are beautiful postcards of innocence and love. Children become more loving and responsible if they have pets and the experience far overweighs the fears. And we become older, these pets become a watermark of a simpler time when children and dogs were allowed to be , without life getting in the way.

The first days

You see your little bundle shivering and rambunctious, and for some reason you choose her out of all the dogs in the bunch. Something about the way the dog hobbles towards you makes your heart melt.

When you take her home the dog bites your little fingers, it’s still a game to her.b But when the time comes to bond more closely with the dog , you see it start to shiver and beg for her mother.

This is a critical time, and a lot of love is needed. Always have blankets at hand and try to comfort the little pup whenever they need extra love.  This is time for bonding, for the pup and you to get used to their surroundings.

It can also be a good time to start good habits. Pups can get used to sleeping in certain spots depending on where they are accustomed to. If you don’t want them on your furniture get them a little bed or get them used to the carpet.

Remember that young puppies need to be fed three times a day but above all be patient that you don’t bond right away, you will soon enough!

My best friend’s Dog Barbie just had the cutest set of pups last month. ( I promise to get some pictures once she passes them on). Breeding a cute batch of pups or kittens are certainly an experience. My cat recently had kittens and am going through almost the same experience. (As I write this the last little kitten is clinging lovingly to the nook underneath my knee and my heart breaks a little)…

It’s basically an emotional experience in certain ways, and it is an interesting process. The mother goes through the finicky and agonizing stages of labour , becomes needy and standoffish at the same time. After a couple of agonizing hours the mother finally and proudly gives birth.

In the beginning the creatures look strange, and even ugly. They cling to their mother for warmth and do not seem to do much else. Our beloved pet does not really socialize much either. At this point there is not much else we can do but watch. The family needs some serious alone time, but it is also key to feed the mother and give her proper attention.

Then something wondrous happens: the little tiny beings become aware, they start to smell things around them and try to wobble their way around . By the second week they open their eyes and look even more alien.

The third week they start to pop out of their pen for air and see what life has to offer. They also become more aware of ” us” and this is when they start to love us. It is here where they seek our caress or love.

And then they become scrappy and energetic and well, start to poop and become catastrophic. Good thing they are adorable at this point! And how could one truly not love those cute little faces?

And then, just when we love them deeply, and know all of the quirky parts of their personalities, this is when we have to say goodbye. Somehow, the house seems emptier, smaller and tinier. We hear the distant calls of those departed younglings and mourn them. It is rare that one ever sees them again, but their memories live on forever. Hopefully, wherever they are the little animals have good and loving homes.

Dogs grow up, and they cease to become cute , a fact of life. Something happens, and people think that those pups will stay cute and fluffy forever. But they don’t they get bigger, and have more responsibility.
I have seen countless irresponsible examples of owners who cease to realize before they purchase a puppy what kind of responsibilities this entails. They get annoyed at the puppy because they want attention, or because they need constant care and walks.

It is no surprise then, when otherwise docile dogs become irritable and can even turn on their owner.  There are some breeds of dogs who will not turn on their owner no matter what happens, like labradors. It is still so heartbreaking to see dogs tied to a tree shivering in the cold, or to watch them be subjected to numerous forms of cruelty.

Before someone gets a pet they should realize that they are living breathing organisms with needs, and not just cute balls of fluff. We have to be responsible enough to face when we are not the ” pet type”. Even fish require feeding and care, so please if you are thinking of buying a pet know what your getting into before you ” regret” it later.

Tom and Jerry are just a myth. Cats and dogs CAN get along, especially if they grow up together.  I got my calico kitten , Sassy , a week after my brother’s cat died. No one was quite ready to move on but the kitten was there. A little ball of black, white and orange fur.

We got neela , our black puppy, a week later. From the start, Sassy adored neela.  At first, they were the same size or at least closer to eachother’s size and played constantly. The amount of mischief those two got into was insane.

Sassy used to go on top of the refrigerator and grab a bag of bread with her mouth and drop it on the floor below so neela could grab it.  Neela would open the refrigerator and grab her heart’s desire and sometimes would share the spoils with Sassy.

Sassy adored Neela in a way a younger sister lover her older sister.  There was never any rivalry, fighting or anything of the sort.  When Sassy had her first batch of kittens, it was Neela who took care of the kittens and not Sassy. She even tried to breastfeed the kittens!  Whenever the kittens whimpered Neela would fuss over them. It was quite strange…

However Neela could not stand other cats. If any cats were prowling around the roof she would bark loudly. For Neela,  Sassy was a dog.  The same thing happened with our previous pets Freddy the Cocker spaniel and Snowball the cat… although Freddy would try to rape Snowball and that was just, well, wrong.  ( Shudder)

The point is,  pets will tend to be loyal to other species as long as they live together. If you introduce a new pet to the bunch, make sure you give your older pet enough attention so that they don’t feel neglected. As long as you keep a good balance even birds will be safe from cats.