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Razzle's Adventure
By Pat & Jeff Levine and Burnetta J. Clarke
One day, my wife came home from the salon to inform me that the young lady who does her nails had tried to rescue a cockatoo a few months back. She was having many problems with this cockatoo and was afraid for her young children. We were asked if we could help. Pat and I went to their house and decided that the current situation was not good for the cockatoo nor for the family who was caring for him. At this point my wife and I decided to take the cockatoo home with us and see if we could give him a better life.
We decided to name him Razzle Dazzle because of his attitude. Razzle is a male Umbrella Cockatoo approximately four years old. We immediately took him to the vet for a quick check and then had him groomed. Once home he was very friendly to us. Little did we know that as time went on and he got more comfortable in his new surroundings, the more aggressive he would become. After about six months, he became very possessive of his territory which eventually expanded to include just about the entire house. This personality transition took about six to eight months. During this time he also decided that my wife was his mate and if she did not do what he wanted he would bite her to impose his will on her even more. During this time we discovered he did not care for men. As a matter of fact, we discovered he was very afraid of men.
With this discovery of his fears we began to understand why he behaved the way he did. He was not biting my wife to force her to do what he wanted as a mate, but instead, was biting her to warn her to run away from that man. We tried everything we could think of. Finally, a friend suggested we try Ken Globus, The Bird Whisperer. We were desperate because we wanted Razzle to be able to have a full life which includes time out of his cage interacting with people.
A few months after we learned about Ken, we found out that he was going to be in our area conducting a workshop. We immediately signed up for the workshop and began planning our weekend trip. Meanwhile, we kept telling Razzle about our plans for him to see Ken and that Ken was going to help him with his fears.
The day finally came for Razzle an Ken to meet. As a matter of fact, the promoters arranged for Ken to use Razzle during his demonstrations at the coinciding bird mart. This made us happy since this meant Razzle would get extra time with Ken. Ken used Razzle for two demonstrations and by the end of the second demonstration, Ken was hold and hugging Razzle with no gloves. The first words out of my mouth were “It’s a Miracle”. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Ken made his breakthrough with Razzle. My wife and I were so happy that words cannot describe our feelings.
The next day was the workshop. Ken had a great group of people and the assortment of birds and issues that he was going to deal with promised to make the day very interesting. Ken worked with a couple of the other birds first. Then it was Razzle’s turn. Ken took Razzle out of his cage and worked with him for awhile. Then the moment of truth came. It was my turn to handle Razzle. I was a little nervous as it had been a year at that point since I had been able to work with him without getting bitten. Ken handed Razzle to me and gave me some instructions on proper handling. Within minutes Razzle and I were friends. I was able to pet him and hold him without getting bitten or his running away from “that man”. He stayed with me for the next two hours, both of us enjoying each other’s company.
I then handed him to my wife. He was calm with her as well and she was able to hold and pet him. After the workshop was over, we took Razzle home and continued Ken’s training. Once Razzle was in his own home agai he regressed a little, being back in familiar territory. We called Ken and he guided us through a few things and Razzle began to come around again.
During all this, we decided that we like helping birds in need so we started a bird rescue and foundation. We took what we learned from Ken and put it to good use. We still talk with Ken from time to time, especially when we have a tough case.
After a few months, a friend of ours who likes cockatoos came over and went right to Razzle. It was love at first site. Razzle fell in love with her and she fell in love with him. After a few more visits, the sight of those long faces when it was time for our friend to leave was more than my wife and I could bear. So, we allowed our friend to adopt Razzle through our foundation. Razzle is now living a full and fun life with our friend and the joy we see in our friend when she is with Razzle makes all the bites worth it. Thanks to Ken, this marvelous bird can enjoy life again.
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The first time I visited Pat and Jeff’s home, all of the beautifully colored macaws were sitting contentedly on their T-perches, but my attention was immediately drawn to a beautiful ball of white feathers crouched against the side of a cage. As I approached, Jeff told me that I could not take that bird out of its cage. (Ah .. a challenge!) After the fourth such admonition, I was told, “You’ve been warned!” Razzle and I spent a few minutes sizing up each other, and then I opened the door. Within five minutes, I tapped Jeff on the shoulder and pointed to Razzle on my arm and said, “Can’t get him out, can I?” From that point on, Raz was my Velcro Bird. We spent the afternoon together, and I found that I could trim his feathers without toweling. He just sat on my knee and let me stretch out his wings.
When evening came, Razzle went back to his “home” cage; and I was again informed that he was very territorial about his cage and that I wouldn’t be able to get him out without being bitten. Wrong again … and we practiced going in and out for a while. This might be the appropriate time to mention that I have had birds since the ripe old age of three (No, we’re not going to disclose how many decades that’s been!), and that I tend toward the birds with “personality.” (AKA ornery!) I also come “with attitude” and am definitely the top bird in my flock.
I wondered if Razzle would remember me on subsequent visits, but it was quickly evident that not only did he remember … he recognized my voice on the phone. With each visit we became closer and I became Razzle’s “handler” on outreach trips. Initially, Jeff was concerned about letting him go to strangers, but as long as I was standing there, that was never a problem. He even sat politely on baby strollers.
I turned down the first suggestion to adopt Razzle – not because I wanted to, but because I really didn’t have room for the size cage he needs and because I didn’t want to upset my “other kids” with the addition of a new sibling who would outweigh all of them put together. Several months of visits and outreaches convinced me that Razzle needed to come and live with me; so in November, he took up occupancy in the middle of the floor in my Study. (Can I get to either of my desks? NO!) He has two windows facing opposite directions to keep him entertained when I’m not around – and his own radio.
I have been told from several sources about Razzle’s previous bad behavior, but I have not really seen it. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have the typical male U2 cockiness … but he knows that Mom means business! We have bonded so closely (I really believe that we have “been together” before!) that when I was recently in the hospital and rehab, he needed to come in for a visit to reassure him that he had not been abandoned by his new Mom.
We started “trick training” almost immediately, and we can now do Big Bird, Take a Bow, Hanging Parrot, The Razzle Hop, Larry Bird (with a big ball), and Raz might be found anywhere from upside down on my head or in my lap. Or under the covers on my bed. Such is the trust he has for me. He also thinks that anyone who enters the house is coming to see HIM.
Razzle may have had a difficult past, but he now has a Forever Home where he is very much loved.