WHEN DUCT TAPE FAILS: AKA WE NEED A NEW SINK LIKE TWENTY YEARS AGO
So the clinic managed to stay open. Literally everyone who saw that post a year ago about the bird rehab center closing its doors helped raise ~$20k of the necessary $50K to keep them open and treating injured/abandoned/neglected birds from all over North Texas.
The both hilarious and most upsetting thing about most wildlife rehabilitation places is that they’re constantly on the brink of falling apart. As it stands, the “clinic” portion of the center was gotten as a “used” school portable building- in 1974. A lot of the utilities are jerry-rigged and after so long, literally held together by duct tape.
If you can’t tell, that’s a picture of tiny water heater and piping underneath the sink- what isn’t already reinforced with duct tape and pvc is rusted over beyond recognition, and the square of brown near the bottom of the picture is the resulting sinkhole that’s formed over the last few years that we either step carefully around or fall into when washing food dishes or bird cages. There’s a mutilated garden hose now substituting for actual pipes. They need a new sink- and to replace the flooring ruined by it.
I definitely do’t want it to sound like we’re just asking for handouts- with the flooring being redone and construction going on in the center, ALL the resident clinic birds will have to be temporarily rehomed or placed in outdoor flight cages. Baby bird season is almost here, and the construction needs to be 100% finished before they’re flooded with chicks, and while the weather’s still nice enough that clinic birds will be comfortable in outdoor cages. Staff will take home the birds they’re certified to take care of off the premises, and volunteers will still come in and care for the ones outside but the faster this renovation goes the better for our resident parrot neglect cases, who don’t do well with environmental instability. The one we’re most worried about is Edgar, a blue and gold macaw who has crippling separation anxiety from being left in a foreclosed house for two weeks with no food or water.
What you can’t see in that picture is that Edgar is nearly entirely plucked on his chest and stomach- because he’s suffered what amounts to leaving a toddler alone for two weeks in a house with no explanation. This has very little to do with the sink renovations, I just get so angry at people for neglecting parrots pretty much 24/7. Look how precious he is. He only knew how to say “shut up Edgar” and “bad Edgar bad” when he showed up.
ANYWAY- I just want birds to be happy, man. If you could help out that’d mean the world to me and every adorable bird face at the center. Thanks a million, guys. Also pet your animals for me maybe.
If you’ve the inclination, here is the gofundme for the sink, here is their facebook- which is gr8 to look at for before and after pictures of rehabbed birds and babies being released and stuff. Also their actual website page, if you’d rather rather use paypal.
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