We have more than 500 parrots at the Refuge, and many of them are in very poor shape. The use of oxygen is vital to give us enough time for medications to take effect. We use oxygen regularly, and it is desirable to have the ability to produce oxygen on site, rather than risk running out of an oxygen cylinder at a crucial time.

Karen Loveys (a local realtor) takes part each year in an auction to raise money for charity. We were very fortunate that the World Parrot Refuge was their Charity of choice for this year. When asked what we might need to raise funds for, we explained our need for an oxygen concentrator.

Karen contacted Annette Young of VitalAire - a company that supplies oxygen concentrators to people suffering from conditions such as chronic lung disease, lung cancer, and cystic fibrosis. Annette in turn contacted a family who no longer needed the concentrator that had been used by their mother, and asked if they would like to donate the concentrator to the Refuge. The family agreed and were pleased to make a wonderful gift and legacy of the concentrator: an item that we could never have afforded.

We cannot begin to express our gratitude to Karen, Annette, and this special family for the donation of the oxygen concentrator to our facility. For us to have this equipment is on a par with a blind person receiving the gift of sight. You have made a dream come true for us. Thank you so much!

Please click on the thumbnails below to learn how you can help some special birds have a home for life through our "Virtual Adoption" program! More stories coming soon!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"This is, in a word, a great place and these miraculous creatures deserve no less, but few places can deliver it this well. It is, indeed, 'world class'."

– Stewart Metz (author and Director of the Indonesian Parrot Project), after his visit at the Grand Opening of the Refuge on August 13, 2005.

"The World Parrot Refuge is a true sanctuary where parrots live out their lives in a loving, spacious and happy environment under the guidance of extraordinarily caring people. The many visitors destined to pass through the refuge will come to understand that parrots are not toys or trophies, but beings with needs and emotions as real as our own."

– Rosemary Low (author of more than 30 books on parrots)