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Foster Parrots' community of
free-flighted birds and confining him to a cage would do
little to draw him out of his shell. He needed placement
as quickly as possible. Volunteers Andrew Rapp and Todd
Hultman took Roger home with them and tried to provide
him with a peaceful, stable, compassionate environment.
As hard as they tried, though, Roger simply did not care
for men. In
September of 2003 guardianship of Roger was transferred
to the Gruber family in Lexington, MA. Andrea Gruber, a
long-time, dedicated volunteer at Foster Parrots was a
stay-at-home mom with infinite patience and a tremendous
amount of love to give. Roger settled in with the Gruber
family and appeared to transform for the first time in
many years into a happy, outgoing, affectionate little
Cockatoo. Though he rejected attention from John Gruber,
Roger enjoyed the children and loved Andrea. His
cage door was never closed. He was free, and he enjoyed
the activity of the family.
Life was perfect.
Then one day, a little
more than two months after joining the Grubers, Roger
put himself into his cage and refused to come out.
Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, human contact was
terrifying to him, and he rejected all attempts by
Andrea to comfort, love or otherwise draw him out of his
impenetrable shell. Distraught and confused by this
sudden turn in Roger's behavior, Andrea tried everything
to bring him back. He was medically and psychologically
evaluated at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston.
Andrea tried various therapies and behavior modification
techniques, dietary changes and manipulation of possible
environmental factors. Nothing worked. Until Jomo came
to live with the Grubers.
Jomo is a Timneh African
Grey with extraordinary cognitive and vocal abilities.
He was placed with the Gruber family in October of 2003,
and though he had no desire to make physical contact
with Roger, he certainly had a lot to say to the lonely
Goffins. "Jomo liked to talk to Roger," Andrea said.
"All day long he'd tell Roger, 'You're such a big bird!
Oh, you're a good bird! C'mere, sweetie pie, I love
you'" At first Roger feared Jomo. Then he was interested
in Jomo. Pretty soon he began to leave the safety of his
cage to watch Jomo more closely. In time, Roger began to
interact with the Gruber family again and to seek
Andrea's love and attention.
A year later Roger is a
happy, interactive member of a loving family. Most
remarkable of all is the fact that, not only has Roger
allowed his feathers to grow back, but he has mastered
his gift of flight - something that has been denied him
since birth. He is a skillful flyer and navigates the
Gruber home masterfully. With his freedom to fly has
come a level of self-confidence and obvious pride never
before seen in this little Goffins Cockatoo. |
