People step up to feather new nests for needy parakeets
By Gina Spadafori
March 29, 2007
Well, actually, they’re budgies, also known as budgerigars. All budgies are parakeets, but not all parakeets are budgies. (It’s one of my pet peeves as a pet-care writer, like people who say, “golden Lab.” There are yellow Labs and golden retrievers, not golden Labs.)
Anyway, we need an uplifting story, so here’s one from Seattle:
Less than two hours after the Seattle Animal Shelter opened Wednesday, 110 parakeets rescued from a one-bedroom apartment had been adopted.
A line of about 35 people waited for the noon opening, bringing cages required for free adoption of the bright, multicolored birds.
“The community’s response to this need has been the most tremendous response I’ve seen in my 17 years here,” shelter Executive Director Don Jordan said.
The response also helped set a single-day adoption record at the shelter. Late Wednesday, officials said 110 parakeets, including those initially taken to a veterinarian, were adopted along with one cat and one rabbit.
Here’s the rest. Great pets, by the way. Did you know that one holds the record for the most words spoken by a talking bird, with more than 300?
