Support Byron's Journey to a Safe Sanctuary

UPDATE

I have just found out my car is not going to be able to make the trip safely. I have updated the total amount to reflect the amount it would be for me to rent a car for the three days needed. It’s a hiccup in the plans- but I’m glad it happened before we left instead of crapping out en route. Thank you for your continued support!!

I have an issue asking for help when I need it, but this is me asking for help.

For those of you who don’t know, I recently rescued a parrot named Byron. I have known Byron since 2012 when I started working at a privately owned pet store. I left that store in 2019.

Let me tell you our history.

He was the resident bird at the shop, hatched in 2001 and the original buyers backed out so he never left. The owner of the pet store kept him in a cage all day and all night, and overall neglected his needs. His main form of attention before I got there was a serious of uneducated customers taunting him, poking him, yelling at him, and invading his personal space. This led to him being incredibly neurotic, cage aggressive, untrusting, and unhappy.

When I got there in 2013 I was terrified of him. He repeatedly bit me, lunged at me, screamed In my face and did everything possible to make sure I stayed away- as he was SURE I was going to harm him like the rest of the world. I persisted, even though the owner told me he was “just like that” and “would never change”. She insisted “that’s just how he is”.

I worked with him every day I was there during my downtime. I KNEW there was hope for him and it paid off. It took me a year before he wasn’t terrified of my hands and one day, like magic, he stepped up onto my arm, and we’d been best friends ever since. I. Loved. This. Bird. and I knew one day I would bring him home with me, and save him from the pet store.

From the day I had met him he had always been naked. He pulled out all of his chest, leg, back and back of wing feathers. The owner had not once in the 23 years he was there taken him to a veterinarian, and ignored myself and other employees letting her know he seemed unwell at various points throughout my 8 years employed there.

When I left the shop in 2019 to start my own Business my heart broke, leaving him there. Not being able to explain to him why I wouldn’t be there every day, that I still loved him, and that I would ALWAYS love him. He was in my thoughts EVERY day, and I would visit him as frequently as I could.

In early spring 2024 the owner contacted me saying she was going out of business, and needed to find a home for Byron. I immediately said I would take him, and prepared my apartment for a macaw. I picked him up on Mother’s Day, and brought him home.

I took him to a vet in July, and she said everything was fine, he looked healthy, and I was thrilled. We continued our quiet lives together for another few months. Then one day last week he wasn’t okay. I rushed him to the vet and it appeared he had underlying GI issues for YEARS that led to a serious bacterial infection, and they noticed a mass on his preen gland.

I have been an emotional mess for the past week. I wound up in the hospital talking to crisis because I spent a week not eating, drinking, or functioning. My mental health is at the lowest it’s been dealing with the idea of this bird having health issues and emotional needs out of my control.

I cannot afford to take care of his health issues financially.

We’re treating the bacterial infection and he’s improving. The preen gland is something I will not be able to afford. Testing and treatment if it turns out to be cancer will not be something he will be able to receive in my care. So I have made an impossibly tough decision to let him go.

I have found a sanctuary in Florida that will take him and allow him access to the treatment he needs, as well as the life he deserves. They are on 165 + acres of land, and full of aviaries for him to fly and live with other parrots of his species. Vets on staff, and specialized caretakers for him. He will live the rest of his days there. In this sanctuary.

THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP!

It’s going to be more money than I have to get him down there, but I will get him there. Nate and I are driving down 15 hours EARLY on Friday October 4th and driving back up on that Saturday and Sunday. 30 hours round trip.

All donations this week and next week will go towards getting him there safely so he can finally live his best life. Because he deserves it.