Update 7.23.26: Since sharing our story with WSVN 7, people in the community have asked us if they could donate towards the cost that we incurred providing Prosciutto's critical care. We shared his story with our local news, in order to bring attention to it and to alert our neighbors to the abuse that happened to this animal right here in our neighborhood. We thought it would be important for our community to know the violence that this animal encountered at the hands of someone that lives here.

We appreciate the help that we have received from animal lovers near and far who understand the cost of rescue, and the costs that we incurred trying to save an exotic animal like Prosciutto.

Given the nature of the economy, we will close this GoFundMe the minute that we hit our goal. We do not want to ask anything beyond that. We feel that it is transparent to share the cost that we incurred, and to ask for that help only.

If anyone would like to see the receipts of his veterinary care, as a justification for the donation, I'm happy to share that with you. Please reach out to me directly and I will email you a copy of it. Thanks! Maria

Original Post:

A few months ago we moved into a house that came with a peacock. He lives on the roof and in the Florida slash pine behind the house.

We named him Prosciutto and he immediately decided that he and I were best friends. Follows me around the garden. Dances for me. And knocks every day on the front door for peanuts, berries and fresh water.

Prosciutto has recently fallen ill. He can't eat and is lethargic. He is a wild bird and considered an invasive species here in South Florida, So despite the fact that we called around to every single available sanctuary, rescue, and avian group, no one would take him or help us with him. Because they specifically cater to native animal populations.

We finally found an avian vet to see Prosciutto, and we had the audacity to decide to walk outside and put a wild peacock into a crate. Because he is sick and weak, he was very receptive to the idea, and I called him over, had a little chat and was able to cover him with a blanket and crate him in less than 15 seconds. One of the smoothest rescues of all time.

Avian vet care is not cheap. And Prosciutto is a wild bird. However, he is part of our greater community, as his Instagram story content is beloved and followed.

We are asking the community to help us procure funds to save Prosciutto. He is a kind boy, and we truly believe that someone abandoned him along the way. He must have been someone's pet.

The funds we are raising are to cover His vet care and the after care we will have to provide for him at home by creating an enclosure for him and feeding him and giving him medication until he fully recovers and can be released back into the wild.

We are asking the community to donate and cover emergency care and any post-critical care cost. IE medication, enclosure supplies and supplements.

We appreciate any help and we know in this economy asking for help is

hard. That's why we are creating this GoFundMe so that Prosciutto's story can go far and wide and we can seek small donations for many people to make a big difference.