Fighting for Our Babies

Sorry this is so long...but it's been a long time coming!!!

At the end of May, mom was approached by the managers of a certain pet store chain with a request.

They stated that they had gotten in a pair of lovebirds and one of the birds was badly injured and therefore needed to be adopted into an experienced avian home. They had immediately thought of my mom, and asked her if she would take them home.

Now, our mom and dad have an agreement that with all of the animals they have (22), they are not looking for more...but if an animal comes along that really really needs them and they can swing it....that animal will be welcomed into the family.

So mom agreed to take the birds, the problem was that they were in quarantine because one of the breeder's birds was found to have a fairly common birdy virus that can be quite contagious among other birds (NOT HUMANS). So mom could not take them home yet, but she went to the vet with the managers and what she was told were her new babies. She visisted them so often that the managers asked her to cool it a little. She offered to have the birds tested for the virus at her own expense ("no"), and she tried to convince the managers to let her give her babies toys while they were in quarantine (again "no").

Months passed and the birds were not released from quarantine (normal quarantine period is 30 days). She called corporate to get permission to take her babies and was blown off. Finally, a couple weeks ago, the managers stopped letting her visit the babies and promised that they would call her as soon as the birds could come home.

This past Saturday she went in to check on the babies and was told that THEY WERE GONE. They had been sent back to the breeder on Monday and NO ONE CALLED HER!!!! She was so scared...she thought that with the male's injury, he might be euthanized.

She got the number for the breeder (who lives several states away) and called every single employee in their company, leaving a voicemail on EVERY MACHINE! Then she called the company owner's cell phone over and over and over until he answered (she knows this was a little crazy...but for all she knew, they were preparing her baby for his final injection). Finally, he answered and promised that the birds were not going to be euthanized and that he would call her on Monday morning with information on the birds.

Monday morning came and went...at 2pm she started ringing down doors at the breeder's company and finally was told that they could not and would not let her have the birds because they are a wholesaler and do not sell to individuals. They told her to go buy a different pair of lovebirds!!!!!!! She explained that she had already bonded with this pair and was asking for an injured pair that they would probably have difficulty selling anyway...they just told her to call the corporate office for the pet store chain and see if they could work something out.

So mom called the corporate office again and explained very nicely on the contact person's voicemail that she was quite anxious about this situation and had already been repeatedly ignored by many people...so if he did not call her back within the hour, she would call him over and over and over until he finally answered. He did not call back...she followed through with her threat.

After an hour of this madness, she called costumer service and got the number of his receptionist, then mom called her and stated that if this situation was not satisfactorily resolved mom would no longer shop at their stores and would tell EVERYONE her story (using the store's name). The receptionist was very nice. She took mom's message and hand delivered it to the man who would not answer the phone. He then put one of his employees to work for mom.

First, she called the managers who promised mom that she would get to have the babies and made them call mom to apologize for their behavior. Then she called the breeder's company, who called the driver of the truck on which the birds were riding (on the other side of the country!!!!), and tried to find out the status of the lovebirds.

Finally, it was determined that the lovebirds were set to arrive back at the breeder's headquarters late this Thursday or early Friday. The lady from corporate promised to call with news then and said that she could not guarantee that mom will get the babies...but stated that she and the breeders are now working towards the common goal of locating the birds and sending them back our way.

If you have read this far, congratulations!...and please send good thoughts in our babies' direction. They have had a really rough start and we just want the chance to give them the comforts, care, and love they deserve!