| Title: | Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN! |
| Notice: | INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.* |
| Moderator: | VIDEO::PULSIFER |
| Created: | Mon Oct 10 1988 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Jun 03 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 942 |
| Total number of notes: | 6016 |
We had a fire last Wednesday that gutted the interior of our house.
The fire has been officially declared accidental. The cord going
from a grounded power strip shorted. The cord was not frayed, the
power strip was not overloaded. The inspector said there was nothing
we could or should have done differently. He said that sometimes this
just happens.
All birds were lost. One young cockatiel made it until the next
morning. Three of our five house cats died. Two survived; one is
in intensive care at Tufts Veterinary Hospital in Grafton, MA and
is still on the extremely critical list. Our other cat is stable and
doing well, though coughing a lot still.
The total count is 46 parrots, two finches, and three cats. No humans
were harmed. The fire happened in the middle of the afternoon. The
local support from the fire department, police, our neighbors, the media,
and our bird club friends and co-workers has been wonderful.
If you believe in such things, what you can do is to pray or send
healing wishes to Moosie and Jake, our two cats. Many have already,
including whole congregations, and the cats are still alive against
all odds.
We're moving into a two-bedroom condo in our town from the 9 room antique
farmhouse until we leave for Colorado in September. The house here can be
rebuilt and will be ready for someone else in three to four months. I will
breed birds again, but not until we get to Colorado.
All who were lost will be buried together at a nice pet cemetary run by
the local humane society in Nashua, NH. Some of the bird clubs in the
area are going to collect donations to sponsor a memorial plot next to
ours for anyone who wants to have their bird buried there.
I have learned from this experience what 'community' is all about.
Never would I have guessed at the level of genuine support and caring
we have benefited from. Thanks to all of you who have contacted us
about this.
Linda
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 863.1 | Sorry... | MTWASH::DOYLE | Tue May 31 1994 12:09 | 10 | |
Linda,
Words cannot express the way I feel about your loss...I have
three parrots and the thought of losing even one crushes me...your note
brought tears to my eyes and your cats are in my thoughts and
prayers...I only hope that the animals passed away quickly
and with as little pain as possible.....take care and good luck in
Colorado...That is the ideal place that I want to live in the future
also......Fort Collins specifically.....Take Care....Mary
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| 863.2 | A sad day. | AIMTEC::SIMPSON_L | Tue May 31 1994 12:43 | 11 | |
Linda,
I cried when I read your note. I agree with Mary. I have 4 parrots
and the thought of losing even one is painful. I will send prayers,
best wishes, good thoughts etc... your way for your human family and
for the cats.
Good luck and take care of yourselves.
Laurie
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| 863.3 | So Sorry! | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | Tue May 31 1994 13:07 | 12 | |
Oh Linda! I am so sorry to hear about the fire and your great loss. I
was a wreck just loosing 1 bird, I just can't imagine how you're
holding up with loosing so many. And the precious cats too. I will
pray for you and your family.
Linda, please take special care of yourself over the next few months.
You certainly are going through many stressors; moving, rebuilding,
loss of loved ones and job change. You deserve all the TLC in the
world right now to help you get through these times.
Jeanne
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| 863.4 | Positive Update | MRKTNG::COMPTON | Tue Jun 07 1994 14:00 | 13 | |
We are now in a two-bedroom condo in our same town, thanks to Marie
Poirer, a realtor for ReMaxx in Nashua, NH. Our two cats are home
from the two different hospitals and are holding their own. The
one that was at Tufts ICU is on meds and is still pretty fuzzy about
things and is at least partially blind, but they are both purring
again.....I have gained two new bird friends, a 5 months old maroon-
bellied conure named Little Bit and a 21 months old severe macaw
named Tough Guy as companions for me and the cats. My husband is
deferring for now any new bird in his life that will be specifically
his, but does plan at the right time for him in the future to get
another bird. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.
I _know_ they have made a big difference for Moosie and Jake and
the memory/spirits of those lost. /Linda C.
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| 863.5 | We're happy for you. | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | Wed Jun 08 1994 12:53 | 11 | |
Glad to hear you (and the cats and Hubby) are doing better and somewhat
settled into your condo. I hope your two new bird buddies help to
bring some happiness into life and I admire you for getting right back
into the swing of things and looking forward to the future.
Take care and keep us posted. You're still in our thoughts and
prayers!
Jeanne
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| 863.6 | How are you doing? | SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE | Fri Jul 08 1994 18:55 | 5 | |
What's happening in your life (after the fire)? Hope all is well and
your reconstruction is going as planned.
Jeanne
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| 863.7 | Almost goodbye time.... | MRKTNG::COMPTON | Wed Jul 13 1994 14:34 | 48 | |
Hi Jeanne and other friends out there ....
Well, three and a half weeks after we moved into the temporary condo we
rented, it was sold. So much for taking a chance on short-term rental
of a 'slow moving property'...it was on the market for two years...so
what this now means is a shift by 4-6 weeks of our plans to move to
Colorado, which is all kinds of fun in terms of fast planning and
pulling all our resources together to accomplish this. On the happy
side of things, I am enjoying raising two young Moluccan cockatoos, now
aged thirteen and ten weeks, and two Goffin's cockatoos, aged seven and
four weeks. We continue to enjoy the little maroon-bellied conure and
the severe macaw we acquired when we moved into the condo a few weeks
ago. We are getting a baby blue-fronted Amazon in a week or so, as
soon as it can be pulled from the nest. It hatched July 5. It is
payment for a breeding pair of blue-fronts I placed some months ago,
although it is not their offspring. Part of the logistics now include
settling up on all outstanding debts and such, including bird-related
transactions, most of which are coming my direction. There is no
possible way I can take with us now all the baby birds that are owed me
for arrangements I made with other breeders when they acquired our
birds over the past year and a half. I wouldn't even take on the
responsibility of the baby blue-front if it didn't represent a very
special replacement for a bird my husband lost in the fire. My job
here in Digital has slowed down to the point that I am considering
quitting. If I do, my husband will be working out of CXO (Digital in
Colorado Springs), so I will see if he'll enter notes for me from time
to time. Plans now are that in the next 6-12 months I will start an
associates degree in applied sciences in veterinary health care, or
whatever the University of Denver calls it. That lasts for 18 months
full time, but I'll shorten that some by exempting out of some of the
basic undergrad courses in humanities and such (I have a B.S., and M.A.
and part of a second M.A., so they kindly said I wouldn't have to
retake a few of the courses). Wish me luck in the math piece of the
science courses! I was always A+ in the labs and C- in the paper
tests. There is only ONE credit given for a puny course in "Avian
Techniques" so there is room for me in the near future to teach some
elective courses in that area if there is interest. While I'm going
through the veterinary technician training/academic program, I'll do my
best to generate that interest!
We'll be in New Hampshire at least until August 20. I'll have my
husband, Gary Knighting, put a note in here once we've settled in
Colorado letting you know how to reach me if perhaps I can be of help
in the future.
Best regards,
Linda
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| 863.8 | PEACHS::RROGERS | Roseanne Rogers, Atlanta CSC | Fri Jul 15 1994 16:37 | 4 | |
Best of luck, Linda! Roseanne | |||||