Doggie Paddling: Rescue

Monday, April 15, 2013

Blog the Change: Project Perry

While Penny is the inspiration for this blog, she does share her life with parrot siblings. These parrots have been with me for over a decade now, and are every bit as interesting, cuddly, loving, and quirky as our furry friends.

Scout, 6 years old, my cuddle bug.

During the last Blog the Change for Animals blog hop, NEPA Pets contributed a great read on parrots. If you're considering adding one to your life, I recommend taking a trip over and reading that entry.

This quarter, I'd like to highlight Project Perry. Founded in 2006, Project Perry is a peaceful sanctuary for parrots in the woods and hills of Central Virginia. Having gone to college in a nearby town, I can attest to the area's quiet and suitability for abandoned and abused parrots.

Project Perry is unique even among bird rescues. Here is a blurb from their Facebook page:

Our mission is to provide a safe place for these birds to go when no other options are available. New arrivals are carefully quarantined and evaluated with an effort to adopt them out to a loving forever home. Birds that are not suitable for adoption are given the opportunity to remain here at the sanctuary in a cage-free flighted environment with others of their kind. The Sanctuary also offers a Lifetime of Care program.

You see, they don't JUST take in abandoned parrots to rehabilitate and rehome. Project Perry is very much about letting birds be birds, which is something even the most well-intentioned parrot guardians can forget. Since it was founded, the organization has created a few aviaries on their 15-acres--aviaries custom built for a various groups of parrots and other birds, complete with appropriate enrichment toys and foraging opportunities. The birds remain flighted, and, when the weather is right, are able to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. While some birds are adopted out to qualified volunteers, most are able to stay and enjoy the sanctuary as their forever homes. "Forever" is a key word in a parrot's life, as they many times outlive their human companions. This is especially important to those at Project Perry; they have even created a Lifetime of Care program that not only covers the parrots of the sanctuary, but can include your bird, too.

Bartok, 10 years, incredible to see in flight when he's not
busy being a roly-poly little peanut man.

Project Perry has recently completed an aviary for conures and quaker parrots, and is in the process of raising money to build another African Grey aviary. Be sure to watch the engaging video and read more about the campaign here. This week, a supporter of the organization will match all donations up to $1,000, so please consider taking this opportunity to donate! If you are unable to right now, you can also sponsor a bird later on.

If you are in the area, you can volunteer or arrange a visit. Matt Smith, the founder, is nothing short of a perfectionist--you will see it in the work, details, and care the sanctuary residents receive.

Project Perry

Website: http://www.projectperry.com/index.php

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Perry/144608394309?ref=ts&fref=ts

YouTube (prepare your eyes for amazingness!): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Perry/144608394309?ref=ts&fref=ts

Indiegogo Campaign for a new African Grey Aviary: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-home-for-parrots-2

Donate to the Indiegogo campaign this week and your donation, up to $1,000 will be matched!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Blog the Change: Big Fluffy Dog Rescue

While going through my Google Reader feed last night, I came across Dakota's Den's Blog the Change entry. Intrigued, I found out that the blogging event happens quarterly, with the first happening today! One of the purposes of this blog is to raise awareness for dog issues and rescues, so I couldn't imagine a more perfect event to participate in.

It wasn't hard to think of what cause I wanted to blog about. Big Fluffy Dog Rescue (BFDR) came to mind for a couple reasons: they are very active and do amazing work, and Penny is a big fluffy dog herself! BFDR focuses on rescuing large and giant (and hairy) breeds like Great Pyrenees, Bernese Mountain Dogs, and Saint Bernards and all their crosses, though they occasionally get the "pocket" pup of 40 or so pounds.

Big Fluffy Dog bonus: They are fantastic footwarmers in the winter!

I first came across BFDR on Facebook, while looking at Pyr rescues. As you well know, Penny is 50% Pyr, so I've cultivated quite a fondness for the breed. If you look at BFDR's adoption list, you will see quite a few purebred Pyrs as well as Pyr mixes (and what they call "Pyre-nots", dogs who look deceptively like Great Pyrenees mixes), so I found myself visiting their site daily.

Part of BFDR's magic is that they truly embrace social media. With the help of weekly transports and dedicated volunteers, BFDR is able to operate over a wide region on the East Coast, spanning from Maine to Virginia (and lately, including Tennessee). BFDR also runs a Southern Dog Connection, a program that brings dogs from the south to more adoptable regions in New England. This cause is very near and dear to my heart. I went to school in Louisiana for two years and can't even count the number of stray dogs and cats I would see roaming around the city. To know that there are programs like this gives me some hope for all of those skinny, haggard mama dogs I saw looking for food.

What blows me away is how the administrators are able to communicate in a grateful, thoughtful way while maintaining a sense of humor. I've volunteered at an animal shelter in the past, and have friends in the rescue and foster community. It gets rough out there. REALLY rough. How an animal is found, the abuse endured, the shocking reasons people surrender their companion animals--it really wears you down. To handle all of that, AND to answer questions asked multiple times over the period of a few hours positively, well, that just takes some really special people!

Recently, there was a litter of five pups surrendered to BFDR. They came to the rescue orphaned under the very worst of reasons. Not only did BFDR fundraise and find foster homes at breakneck speeds, they kept those who had been following the story in the loop with daily (or near-daily) updates. I really don't know how they do it.