Sucking in your stomach while standing on a scale is the very height of optimistic thinking. Sad to say, the scale never seems to fall for such antics. Neither does the X-ray machine, as it turns out. And when Goldy the Amazon first stepped in front of the X-ray machine, it was obvious she needed help fast.
In fact, it was pretty clear even before X-rays that things weren’t going well for Goldy. Goldy is an older bird with a long list of medical problems. For one thing, she has a large mass on the outside of her body (vets are still examining), and she’s severely overweight. That’s what you can see just by looking at her. With the X-rays, however, things go downhill from there.
She has a severely enlarged liver and heart. In fact, her insides have become so enlarged, Goldy is left with limited lung capacity. She needs to lose some serious weight, among other things. In short, these kind of problems are going to take time to deal with, which is why she ended up at Best Friends.
Parrots First, a rescue organization in California, has collaborated with Best Friends in the past during several big rescues. Rose Lavine, the head of the organization, has been a tremendous help to Best Friends in taking birds from the various rescues and finding homes for them. After years of helping Best Friends, Rose finally needed some help of her own with two birds who came through her doors — Goldy and a friend. You see, Parrots First doesn’t have a setup for birds who need long-term care. And these two particular birds are going to need exactly that.
Goldy will need the long-term special care, but she is bonded to Big Bird, another Amazon. Big Bird is not exactly fond of being handled, so he has his own challenges, too. But it’s Goldy who really needs the immediate medical help.
At Best Friends, they will each have all the long-term medical care and TLC they need. As far as Goldy’s health is concerned, for starters she’s going to be on a very special diet. Like all animals at the sanctuary, she’ll have a diet and vitamin program tailored exactly to her needs. The vets will also take a closer look at that mass, and if surgery is required, she’s in the best possible hands.
Big Bird, meanwhile, is mostly just happy to be with his special friend. He currently doesn’t want much to do with his caregivers, but maybe once he sees Goldy feeling better as a result of all the TLC, Big Bird could realize people aren’t so scary after all. Whatever comes down the road, however, this Amazon pair have come to the right spot. Welcome!
Story by David Dickson
Photos by Sarah Ause
See where Goldy and Big Bird are now living, by taking an online tour of Parrot Garden, where the birds live at Best Friends.
