Parrot Lover of the Month- February 2011 Sister Kathy

Parrot Lover of the Month- Sister Kathy 

The spiritual side of keeping a Parrot named Lollipop

 

WHO AM I

I am a parrot parent and I live in a very small town in the mountains of

the Adirondacks. My name is Kathy Henderson. I love life, and I love all creation. My respect for all creatures has always been a part of life since I can remember. The love I felt for any animal, be it one with feathers, fur or scales was so strong I needed to do something with it. I belong to the Third Order of Franciscans, which is an order of St. Francis. This saint is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. So, here I am now, after 4 years of study, praying and walking the earth as St. Francis did, I am now called Sister Kathy.

Sister Kathy

 MY CALLING

The spiritual part of my calling all started from working at a veterinarian hospital. I found my "calling" into the spiritual world as a Franciscan while working at the animal hospital and finding myself praying with families as their loved pets were dying or being euthanized. I felt such adoration for animals and their true Creator and Master, and indeed felt His presence at each "crossing over" of each animal.

QUIET TIMES AND LOLLIPOP

During my transition into the order, one of the order rules was to have quiet times and meditations during the day. I am not one to sit still for very long and found this rule was one of the hardest for me.  Staring into an empty parrot cage while doing my quiet time, my mind started turning. I had had a Quaker parrot for 17yrs named Spanky that I had lost 8 months previously. Spanky filled much of my days with love and attention soooo I surfed the web on companionship birds and found a match for myself. That night I purchased 4 online books on Eclectus parrots and their care. Next day I surfed the web for the closest breeder which I found in downstate NY, I made a phone call and was told that there would be a 6 month wait. I didn't care if I adopted a male or female but did my homework on both. I read everything I could get my hands on. As I read, I found peace and awe in the details of their social lives, structure, and beauty. I found my other calling....a little parrot named Lollipop!

Lollipop

 

LEARNING TO BE PATIENT

Waiting was the hard part. Soon I received a call from the breeder letting me know that it was a girl! I wanted to name her something that I could sing to her so that is where I got the name Lollipop and to this day every morning when I wake her up to transfer her to her daytime cage that is the song I sing to her, and now she is the one that does the popping sound that is in the song. When she first arrived I had butterflies and I shook from head to toe, my heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. I took a week off of work to be with her to start the bonding process. She was a big baby. After all, I only had small parrots and getting used to her size took some time.

Lollipop was a total brat in the beginning, striking out at me with that very big black beak, puffing up when I walked next to the cage was an every day occurrence. Screaming was her favorite pastime. After one month she seemed all settled in and I felt confident enough to start the "step up" command. Slowly I reached in my hand talking softly to this beautiful creature that I thought was meant for me. She took a chunk off the top of my hand so quick that I didn't even know she did it until the air hit the open wound. It wasn't the bite that made me cry that day, my feelings were hurt to the core. After all, she was suppose to have been hand trained and was not a biter. This is not what I wanted, she was not what I wanted and as far as I was concerned she was going to go somewhere to just be a breeder, and I would get a baby that I could hand feed and bond to. As I stood there crying my heart out, hurt and disappointed my companion came to me and said "she has only been here a month, give her more time she will turn around and love you back." I agreed to give it a couple more weeks, no more no less before I sold her, after all she was untrained, unfriendly and evil.

The following morning I uncovered her cage to be met with a sweet "hello darling," her first words. She came to the door of the cage, jumped on my shoulder and I froze. Ok so today I am going to lose my ear or she is going to put a hole in my face, I thought. Gently she took her black baby beak, rested it on my cheek, fluffed up her baby feathers and repeated "hello darling." From that day forward she has made a 180 degree turn, she knew she hurt my feelings the day before, she knew I wanted her to love me. She understood my conversation with my companion and she understood that we were meant to be together.

 

MY VIEW

I have been asked numerous times about my view on pets and spirituality. Do they go to heaven, do they have souls? Yes, I do believe they go to heaven and yes to get to heaven you have to have a soul. I find comfort in knowing that they are there. I was told as a very young child, "you never own an animal, you only borrow them till their true Master calls them home , so you must take very good care of them for Him". Today, in this world, it seems many have lost their way and their identities as spiritual beings. They have transferred their priorities that they traditionally placed on nature to their own accomplishments . Many are unaware of their connection to their relationship with nature, they instead are focused upon a superficial and material world. Many have lost sight of the fact that they are all a part of the world of nature and the Creator Himself, which is responsible for the whole of life, and all living creatures.

SHARING THE JOY

I recently had my parents come and live with me. My mother suffers seizures, is in a wheelchair, and is deeply depressed. My dad is totally blind, has heart disease and is dying of cancer. This little parrot has brought many hours of laughter to the both of them. To see my mother smile is something rarely seen but when she has Lollipop on her shoulder or watches with me as Lolli plays in her toy box, steals cat toys or feeds the dogs peanuts, she transforms into the mother I remember years ago.

My dad asks every day if I would bring Lolli to him . To see someone that is dying smile because of the joy of holding a 560 gram bird shows how much love has been put into her creation. She helps my parents emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically....wow.

Lollipop helps me attain "living in the moment." That's what she does, a moment in which Spirit can be most easily accessed. Just look into a birds eyes and not find life a miracle, I dare you. Celebrating life with my parrot has become a way of life for me.

Lastly

If I could mimic the same faithfulness and acceptance in my relationships that I experience with my parrot and all my other pets, then I am a better person for it. If the only thing that changed is how I live my life today, the joy of companionship and friendship, living more in the moment as it happens, then that's enough for me.

Editors Note:  Kathy also has a leopard gecko rescue:

http://adirondackgecko.com and has just adopted a sun conure named Sunny from parrot rescue.