Where should Emmi stay? :(

[KimberlyAnn]

My uncle died and so we must all go to visit back home. It was so unexpected and we really don't know the details yet, he was just found in the ocean after having a difficulty with depression issues. It will take some time to know. I will go over thanksgiving break.

I do not have anyone in town that I can trust for her to stay for the weekend. Not because they are not good people, but because they have animals or small children. The six people who we would normally call are going with us...my family.
I cannot take Emmi this time. It's too much. There will be too much stress around the family home down there (and no place to put her because of allergies) and she cannot stay at the hotel we have booked because there are no more "pet" rooms. Really? I need a pet room for a bird? She won't do damage! This is also a holiday time and hard to find a room. I've tried.

Friends visiting my house? Everyone is busy! (So far...I have not reached out to others, but will do that tomorrow) Holiday weekend. I have great friends, but it is a burden for them. Normally, this would not be an issue.

My options are....

- Bringing Emmi to a friend I do trust an hour and a half away. That friend will be gone all day at work (weird hours too) for those four days and it's in the opposite direction. I have four hours of travel time as it is. Putting three hours on top of that travel time is just too much. I will miss our get together which is important around this time.

- Getting a pet sitter I don't know. In my house. :/ So far none of my facebook friends or people I have called use a pet sitter. Someone must! I want someone who knows someone and not someone on Craiglist!

- Putting Emmi in the boarding room at the bird shop. I've been promised that she will get lots of time with her favorite person there and she will be in a room with four other birds. Thankfully, three people I do know from the bird shop. We all use the same vet and we all take good care of our birds. But she will be alone...with other birds...but not people at night.

I know it's only three nights and four days, but it feels like a long time for my husband and I. We worry that she will feel abandoned and really the only scenario we trust at this point is the bird shop because she likes it there and we like the people. I feel like it's really clean there and they will follow my instructions perfectly, but alone at night?

I know I am not in a good place right now and it does not help that we have so many dead ends and bad luck finding her care. I know she will be ok, but my heart says she won't and I feel awful about it. I've never been away from her more then a weekend, but my husband was home with her at that time. I think if the circumstances were different, I would feel a lot better. I know I must focus on going to see family and facing the reality of what has happened because I must be strong for family.

So where should Emmi go? Should we go with our gut instinct and take her to the bird shop? I really need and want for her to go somewhere with people she knows. My husband has also begged me to make sure she is with someone we know well. No strangers. We've been going there weekly for visits lately and she spends so much time with her favorite person. Should I even worry about her not having people around at night? Am I crazy to be overly worried about this?

[GreenWing]

Very sorry of your loss and situation. I'd take care of Emmi for you if you lived closer for free... even though you don't know me, as a crazy parrot lady I'd be happy to do so lol. That said I think your best bet is the close friend you trust or bird boarding.

[cml]

Im sorry for your loss .

- Putting Emmi in the boarding room at the bird shop. I've been promised that she will get lots of time with her favorite person there and she will be in a room with four other birds. Thankfully, three people I do know from the bird shop. We all use the same vet and we all take good care of our birds. But she will be alone...with other birds...but not people at night.

I dont think bird boarding is a good idea, its a great (read: bad) place for diseases to spread. You have no idea what Emmi might pick up.

I would:

- Bringing Emmi to a friend I do trust an hour and a half away. That friend will be gone all day at work (weird hours too) for those four days and it's in the opposite direction. I have four hours of travel time as it is. Putting three hours on top of that travel time is just too much. I will miss our get together which is important around this time.

But take her there a day before, even today or tomorrow if necessary. Its much better that she stays with someone you trust. Also, if you move her asap, then you wont have to add that travel time to your destination.

Hope it works out!

[GreenWing]

I dont think bird boarding is a good idea, its a great (read: bad) place for diseases to spread. You have no idea what Emmi might pick up.

Good point, but the Avian Vet in my area does the bird boarding, so I think bird boarding via an Avian Vet would be okay.

[marie83]

Personally if you cannot take your parrot to your friend then I would choose to get a pet sitter rather than board a bird. I prefer my birds to stay in their own environment as its less stressful, I worry about disease, I don't like the fact there isn't always someone there but I guess it's no different to me going out to work...

Speaking as someone who once nearly went in to pet sitting myself as a full time job (I just do the odd job now, it's my fall back option if I can't get a vet nurse placement) and did a hell of a lot of research in to it. If you go the pet sitter route then:

1. choose those that have been established for a reasonable amount of time and preferably pet sits as a full time job-or close to full time. (a full time pet sitter with a bad reputation wouldn't be in business for very long, the ones that do a couple of pet sits a week for extra cash *might* last a bit longer though) that's not to say part timers and newer businesses are not reliable though.

2. Preferably choose someone who is used to pet sitting parrots.

3. Check out their references, insurances and criminal record checks- all good pet sitters should be able to provide those even if it is not a legal requirement in your country.

4. Interview them in person- remember although they are self employed you are actually providing the work so don't feel shy about asking questions, anything goes from finding out the above information to asking about key safety and how they handle emergencies to how long they spend on each visit and if you can pay extra for the to stay a bit longer.... and remember to tell them about your bird, if she bites regularly for example, something in particular frightens her or has a little quirk that may make the pet sitter think she is sick then let them know. It is perfectly ok to tell them not to open the windows/keep all doors shut at all times or anything else you do or dont want doing etc. You are paying them so as long as your requests aren't ridiculous then it will be fine (I once sat for an owner who wanted me to feed their dog cooked chicken bones and chocolate for treats. I refused to do it, the owner wasn't happy but still gave me the job once I explained why I wouldn't do it)

5. If you like them then let them meet Emmi and see how they are with her. Be honest with the sitter at your meeting and tell them you like them a lot but have another potential sitter to meet so you'll be in touch immediately afterwards.

6. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with if any.

I appreciate that your probably short on time to get things organised though so doing all that might not be possible, plus the sitters with the best reputations are likely to be booked up as it will be quite short notice. It really doesn't mean you can't find someone who cares and will do a bloody good job for you though good luck sorting something.

[Lquan]

KimberlyAnn,

I am sorry to hear about your loss in the family.

About Emmi situation, at least the place you're travelling to is within driving distant. We will have to take our Lily from CA to NC this summer when we visit my parents; and back. If I were you, I will take Emmi with me. Put her in a small travelling cage of course. I have stayed at a large hotel with my Lily before. I'd never mentioned "pet" to the hotel. I just put her small cage in a fancy gift bag, the kind they give out for free at mall when you buy clothing, and take her straight to the elevator when we come back at night. I'd never left Lily alone in my hotel room. During the day time, she travelled with us in the car. In the hotel room she was free to fly around, but she preferred to stay on the shoulder of one of us most of the time. As long as she knows we are around, she never scream.

I read somewhere that conures don't cause allergy. They don't shed like tiels. You may want to check into this.

Personally, I would never board my Lily at a pet shop or aviary hospital; regardless of how clean they look. Who knows what diseases left behind by previous birds, especially places that won't let you bring in your own cage. There are bird shows in my area several times a year. I would love to visit one to open my eyes, but always afraid of bringing bird disease home to Lily.

I always fred about Lily would disown me or my family if we are away from her over night. She will probably pluck herself if all of us disappear over night. A few hours at home alone during the day time is ok. I travel oversea for work 5 or 6 times per year. But a least my other family members are always there with her. My wife stays home all day with her. Lily does get mad at me when I come back from a long work trip for an hour or two. She chomps at me when she is mad. But I can always make up to her with almonds . She is bonded with me the most out of the four of us in the family. Everyday when I come home from work, as soon as she hears my voice, she flies frantically around the house looking for me.

[KimberlyAnn]

I've read all of your responces. Cml, you are right. I really wish I could bring her to my friend early, but she's not getting home from her trip until Thankgiving morning. Wonderful how things don't work out when you need them to work out!

The hotel is so small and Emmi would scream when we walk out the door. I hear her when I leave for work. Neighbors say they hear her for a good five minutes now, then she settles down. Family is straight across the board...no pets come on the trip. I could explain until I'm blue in the face that she's not a dusty bird. But it's just not the time for that. Too much stress as it is. Too many unanswered questions about the situation and it looks as though no one else was involved and the worst scenario is the most likely one talking to the people who last saw him alive. I cannot push the bird issue this time.

Marie, I'm going to try for a pet sitter. If we just won't trust, she will have to be boarded. I talked to my vet today and she said she would talk to a few pet sitters and gave me some numbers also that I will call tomorrow. She did say that she trusted the bird shop and sends people there because they are super clean and watchful. She is on call for them so if there is trouble, she can go to Emmi. I hope the pet sitter thing goes through though. Coming from my vet, I can trust that, right? I guess I never looked into it before because I never thought we would all be out of town like this. It's not normal. If I don't find someone, I need to when I get back into town. I know I'm very overwhelmed by this and I just need to focus on finding a sitter. I don't have much time, but I'm glad I have a little. I will follow your advice though and write down questions to ask.

[KimberlyAnn]

And thanks for all the well wishes. What's most important here is what has happened and healing from it. Always be there for your family and notice when something is wrong and they need help. If I had noticed things were so bad, I would have done much more. Life gets so busy and it's hard to put clues together until you look back. But this is a big wake up call to me to be more involved.

[Pajarita]

First of all, so very sorry for your loss. I do NOT like boarding birds in stores or vets' offices -too risky in terms of contagion and real bad light schedules all around.

I know somebody VERY reliable (personal friend PLUS he has had birds for years PLUS he fosters for Mickaboo so you know he has been checked and double-checked) in San Jose that might be willing to board her. I don't know how far he is from you but, if you are interested, send me a pm and I'll put you in contact with him (he works right where he lives and is in and out all day long, has lunch with the birds -lets them out, etc).

[GreenWing]

Eh, I agree that vet boarding isn't the best option in any other circumstance -- trust, most of you KNOW I am a phobic of microbes and especially mites and stuff -- but even that said, I know the vet in *my* area and how incredibly sanitary they are and the very good treatment the birds get. Not sure if this is the standard - sounds like it isn't which is too bad. And also this vet clinic in particular is deep cleaning Tiki's cage (they do this for the bird boarders as well) which satisfies my worry for the bugs/microbes, so Chance will get a "decontaminated" cage, lol. SO ANYWAY MY POINT BEING is if Kimberly lived in my area I would recommend THIS PARTICULAR vet boarding. But Kimberly DOESN'T live in my area and so none of this typing matters anyway ^^

That said, I agree with the others, go with a friend or, EVEN better, take up Pajarita's offer -- which is super awesome.