He was Soooooo beautiful, a magnificent Blue & Gold Macaw.
I approuched him as he sat perched, his cage was opened, he reached for me with his talon, he wanted for me to hold him, he wanted to be with me so badly as he let out his majestic call of the great Macaw, he stretched his Talon.....Please take me, Pleeeeease....
Then I noticed burns all over his body.....and the tears began to fall.....


Hi everyone,
My name is Arty Tovar, I am better known as BrokenWing.
My lovely wife and I frequent a Bird supply store named Love on the Wings here in the Twin Cities metro area to stock up on our supplies.
Oneday I met and fell deeply in love with a Blue & Gold Macaw, I asked the owners of the store what his name was, "we don't know" they said, "he seems to like you", "Please.....allow him to come to you".

I offered my arm to this wonderful creature and he came to me with such expectations, Then I saw the burns that were all about his body.
"What has happened to this bird"....I demanded, and his story began to un-fold..........................

We love birds here on ParrotChatter, this is evident or we wouldn't be here.
We have all heard horrific stories of abused birds, We have seen proof of such abuse and we all yearn to put an end to this...We feel helpless...........

You do know you can help!!!!
You do know we might not be able to stop abuse, but we can help the little one being abused!

What if I told you a mere $25.00 dollars will help a abused Parrot, it will help feed and water and provide such security to a little Parrot, Security they so much deserve.

We are far from reaching our Goal concerning supporting the Gabriel Foundation, If every member of ParrotChatter were to donate a mere $25.00 to the foundation our Goal would be met and then some.

ParrotChatter has not set our goal "out of reach", the goal is very easily reachable if we all help, "there's a bottom line here members", we need to do more, we need to reach this very reachable goal, this can't happen without your kind help and support.

My Rescue Facility is in the red right now, I self support all I do for Birds and animals, I know of TUFF times, Tuff times require Tuff measures.

Won't you please open your hearts, "I KNOW THINGS ARE HARD RIGHT NOW".
There's a sick and or Hungry Bird right now that calls upon you, they all have a story to tell you, will you take the time to hear there words, more importantly, won't you please help them.
ParrotChatter is all about making a difference, Issues and or problems are solved here, the saddness of loosing a dear one are comforted here, the new are welcomed and we all grow TOGETHER.
Together we can help the Gabriel Foundation help those we adore so deep within ourselfs.

$25.00 will feed a Cockatiel for Months if you buy bulk and believe me the Gabriel Foundation buys BULK, the more supplies bought mean the cheaper the price, so a $25.00 donation will even stretch further.

There's a Parrot out there right now, he-she might be your favorite Parrot "the love bird", there names maybe different, but there needs are the same, won't you please sponsor a "LOVE BIRD".

Please.....Please, earn your feather today by helping a Gabriel Foundation Parrot, You can make a very much needed difference in a little Parrots life and you can do this Today.

Please walk with me and many others as we prove "United we Stand" "Devided we Fall", Feel the POWER of being United, Feel the Power of making a difference.

We are a small but very determined ARMY, won't you please Join our Army as we strive to help the little ones that can't help themselfs.

There is nothing more saddening than a little bird staring at an empty seed dish, there is nothing more saddening than being sick with no medications to help.

Please, Please help them.................
LOVE ON THE WINGS TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING!!!!!

BrokenWing

There is nothing more saddening than not helping those in need

BUMPING UP for a great cause......
More Support is needed......
Helllllloooooooo did ya hear me???????
I said......more support is needed.......

I heard you!

You're coming through loud and clear up here in Maine, Arty!

Come on, everyone, help us to raise our voices together in support. Becoming a TGF Sponsoring Member is easy, just click on the *GABRIEL FOUNDATION* link in the top navigation bar on any ParrotChatter page and select the appropriate sponsorship level for you. Then sit back and watch as our love takes wing!

My male ego (pride) won't allow me to ask for help from others.
My legs began hurting, I always said "this will go away" each day gone by my legs hurt worse.
It was a bitter winter day outside 30 below windchill factors as I walked to bring our mail in from the street, well my legs gave up, my "pride" finally caught up with me and I went down a third of the way back to the house.
There I lay with no coat, heck, it was only a short walk.
My neighbor found me in my driveway, He helped me into the house, I was never so very grateful for having such a kind neighbor as I was on that day.
I found out I have a disease called PADS, and since then I have had 8 stents placed into my arteries to keep the blood flowing to my legs.
We all need help at sometime within our lives, The Gabriel Foundation needs help supporting the many birds that find there way unto there care, This was my chance to return the help that was offered to me, this was a chance to make a desperate change within a little birds life.
The costs of medications I need to keep my Facility up and running are staggering so I know first hand about "needs".
I make sacrifices everyday to make sure those that come to me are well cared for, I can't expect this from others, But I can ask, and Plea, or whatever it takes to get others to help these birds by contributing to The Gabriel Foundation.
There's a little bird out there that so badly needs your sponsorship, Please help if you can, a $25.00 sponsorship can mean so very much to a little one in need.
I can only PLEA and PRAY that others find away to help, and send a very sincere Thank You to those that have helped for it is you that shines so brightly in the eyes of those that so desperately need you.
Be a LIGHT within the darkness, Please sponsor a Gabriel Foundation Parrot.
Peace
BrokenWing

I love this thread. As have others who have chosen to share our lives with these glorious creatures, I've fought the internal battle over whether we should or should not keep as companions living beings created for freedom. Well, we do and that isn't going to change any time soon. After all, how could a domestically bred and reared parrot survive in the wild?

Personally, as heartbreaking as the stories of the rescues are, being in a position to be part of a team that, together, makes such a tremendous difference is very important to me. Arty, John, Gini, Lynda and others who do "hands-on" rescue are blessed in that they are able to make a visible difference in these helpless lives. The difference the rest of us make can be even more powerful, as we can combine our efforts and cause the funding to flow into the hands of those who are "hands-on." Believe me, the person who supplies the resources is every bit as vital to the process as the person who cares for the rescues. There's no difference between the two functions. The steering wheel is as vital to the operation of a car as are the tires.

To all of you who hold these feathers in your gifted hands, THANK YOU! May the rest of us listen to that "still, small voice" inside of us encouraging us to forego a visit to Starbucks, a night at the movies, that extra ice cream in order to give to the rescue organizations.

Arty, I absolutely love your idea of all the feather holders getting together. On the other hand, it occurred to me how much good we could do if we were to send the money such a get together would cost to TGF. Just thinking ...

By the way, I am not in any way intending to put pressure on anyone. Sometimes we're in a position to help. Sometimes we're not. There's nothing to feel guilty about if you're in a season when it isn't feasible to give money. Nor is there anything to feel guilty about if, having money to give, you know that you want to direct it to another organization or spend it differently. This is an opportunity, not an obligation.

The get together could maybe be right here on ParrotChatter, Total cost, your internet connection...LOL
Maybe meeting in the Chat, this seems hard for everyone to meet at the same time, there are ways for all feathers holders to meet and voice there opinions, and Hopefully maybe a rep from TGF can log onto PC and speak with us.
The cost would be very very little, Time is the cost.
ParrotChatter has a forum for all the Moderators and Cordinators to go and make suggestions and or talk about the forum, maybe a special area for Feather holders?
The area doesn't have to be a perminant area, maybe the forum could stay up for the length of time the funding ran, so everyone had a chance to stop and and pay there respects to each other.
I also don't like placing pressure unto people, sometimes such pressure pays off and a life is saved, and if but one life is saved, then the pressure issue has worked for "that life".
Many have fallen silent within these hands, but those that have flown away free keep the PRESSURE on me, keep my hopes and prayers and most important "the need to continue and try and help" alive within me.
I do not speak of a nice place to have a picnic and a meeting although that would be very nice, Just a simple area here on PC where all feather holders can meet, total cost...the time it takes to add such a forum here on PC.
This would be a PERK to those that helped, and an inspiration to those that couldn't help for reasons unknown, after all when I was a child, I wanted a GI JOE, so I went out and mowed lawns to earn the money to get one.
Its all about helping the little ones that can not help themselfs.
Peace
BrokenWing

Arty...what everhappened to the blue and gold one that touched you in such a profound way?

The Blue & Gold was offered to Rose Ann and I for a mere $750.00.
I don't mean to sound poor, but rescues keep us pretty much in debt.
I wanted to bring this Majestic bird home with me in the worse way, but this would mean the many would suffer as I would have no funding to go In-Field to help, to add more cages, to add more supplies.
I had to walk away from this great bird...
The owners decided they would keep the Blue & Gold, We visit him often and my heart still yearns for him.
(His Story)
The local police raided a drug house, (biker hangout), and this B&G was found in horrible conditions with cigarette burns on a generous amount of his body.
I become so very enraged when seeing this horror, my worst comes out, but there is a light in all this darkness, there are those that stand up and open there hearts and homes to those that are abused, folks like you and me and The Gabriel Foundation Sanctuary.
Please everyone, Please....help a bird in need, your kind loving caring ways are needed so badly, the Gabriel Foundation needs your help in the most profound way, the sponsorship cost of $25.00 can mean so very much to a little bird in need, Please find it within your heart to help.....click on the Gabriel Foundation link located at the top of the forum, Sponsor a Parrot that so badly needs your kind support.
Peace
Arty aka BrokenWing

It is hard to comprehend, how can people be so cruel to a helpless animal. I am glad you get to visit him and that he found a good home. Supporting places like the Gabriel Foundation and the work you and so many others on this board do is one way we can all give something back.

I am proud to participate in this effort--being able to set up my contribution as a monthly debit from my checking account (through paypal) made it possible for me to donate more than I could have done in a lump sum. As a graduate student with a large flock of my own rescues it is not always easy to come up with $$, even for such a worthy cause. But then again, little that is worth while in life is easy!

I hope everyone will dig deep and donate what you can...my guess is that even $1.00, multiplied by the many wonderful and caring people on this board-would be a substantial addition to that fund raiser update thermometer!!