With Heather's kind permission, we are posting this letter to the website. Heather recently made the difficult decision to give her friend Bobbie a home for life amongst the love and companionship of our flocks.

Hi Wendy,

Again I am so sorry that I was not able to meet you yesterday, but Stephanie and all of your staff were absolutely WONDERFUL! I cannot say enough about them. No words can describe your facility, spectacular, amazing! She took me on a full tour. Made me feel really good about Bobbie's new home. You are all angels to these birds.

My heartfelt thanks for everyone helping to make me feel better about my decision to leave Bobbie with you. I know that he will be well cared for and he will have a successful transition. You have such a special group of people assisting you in making your facility one that shows how much you all care and love the birds.

It was heartbreaking to leave him. Even though I know that he will have lots of love and attention, and he will make new birdy friends, it was very difficult to say goodbye, or to "see you later" as I prefer to think, as I will be back for visits if you don't mind. The silence was deafening when I got home. He is an absolutely wonderful little bird who just needs to be around other birds now and I know you will all love him. I know that you are busy but I will be emailing you to see how he is progressing, so whenever you are able to, just drop me a quick email response. Please let me know if you need anymore information from me. As Stephanie said, "He has just gone off to bird college."

Wendy, I want to thank you again. Keep up the wonderful work. You are a true advocate for our feathered friends who sometimes are forgotten. I have an incredible admiration and respect for all of you, for your undying dedication, selflessness and compassion that you show towards all of the birds.

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That's the essence of inhumanity."

Thank you.

Your new friend,
Heather

Wendy received some very touching news this week that she would like to share and express our condolences to the family and friends of Jody Joval:

Here is the body of the letter:

From: The Victoria Heart Institute Foundation
To: The World Parrot Refuge

Re: Donations in Memory of Jody Joval

Please find enclosed a cheque in memory of a co-worker and more importantly a very good friend.

Jody had a lot of interests and adventures and shared with us her time with you in Coombs. Jody and her fiancé Todd went on a holiday up Island during Jody's illness and just happened to stop into your refuge when driving by. They were so inspired by the kindness that was displayed to the birds and loved hanging out with the parrots.

They ended up going back and visiting your refuge for a second time. Jody was a great storyteller and she told all that would listen about your organization.

We hope this money can help out a little.

The letter is signed by two of Jody's colleagues at the VHI. Jody's obituary is online so I've taken the liberty of pasting it here:

JOVAL, Jody August 29, 1968 - March 17, 2009 Taken away from us much too early. A daughter, sister, aunt, soul mate and great friend.

Jody battled cancer with 'the eye of the tiger' attitude. She was a great person who put others needs in front of her own. Jody was a nurse at RJH and her passion was quite evident in her daily work. Jody enjoyed fast pitch at Heywood Park where she played with the Victoria Athletics. Besides her dedication to the medical field and her love of sports, Jody was an adventurer. Jody excelled with event organization, putting together game plans, and following through on projects to ensure the happiness of others. While the great staff and volunteers of Hospice were taking care of Jody, she was still organizing another 'event'. We believe she is organizing as we speak.

While we mourn the loss of Jody, we also appreciate that she was able to enjoy a special ceremony with her soulmate Todd. It was a celebration with many special 'toasts', the way Jody would have wanted it. A Celebration of Life Reception will be held at the Arbor Reception Centre of Sands Funeral Chapel at 1803 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC, on Friday March 20, 2009 at 1:00 pm. Flowers are gratefully declined. Donations in Jody's memory may be made to The World Parrot Refuge: PO Box 645, Coombs, BC VOR 1MO 5 3 1 8 4 2

The family also has an online guestbook at this link:

On behalf of the World Parrot Refuge, thank you, Jody. We are touched by your thoughtfulness and support, and our hearts grieve.

Unloading the Hagen donation.

In December, the World Parrot Refuge was blessed by an incredible donation of pelleted food courtesy of Mark Hagen, on behalf of the Rolf C Hagen Company. This nutritional diet was created by Mark, who operates HARI, the Hagen Avian Research Institute in Montreal. Mark also paid for the shipping of the donation. How can we convey our extreme gratitude for such a generous donation?

On one of the wettest days Vancouver Island has experienced in recent memory, the staff were on hand to take delivery of over four pallets of Tropican diet pellets. There were over a hundred 25 lb bags! Nobody was complaining about the weather though. The staff were laughing and in great spirits as they unloaded the pallets and stored the bags in a very dry and safe building. Even the truck driver was excited to be the bearer of such an incredible donation!

Tropican is already being used to supplement the parrots' daily diet, and its fruity scent fills the Refuge! In the week prior to the donation, we received 12 new large parrots, 6 from a seizure by the Calgary Humane Society. Half of these birds are in really poor condition and the veterinary report says it is due to poor nutrition. We are hoping for a major improvement in these Scarlet Macaws, who are only 3 years old, and the nutrients in the Tropican will really help.

Thank you from the depths of our hearts to Mark Hagen and the Rolf C Hagen Company!

Our crew brave the cold and rain to unpack the Hagen donation.

We are proud to present the following video from Nathalie and Michael, who made the decision to give their beloved feathered family member, Teemu, the benefits of a flock lifestyle at the Refuge. This is a beautiful tribute to their love for Teemu, and for his new home. Thank you Nathalie and Michael!

Natalie and Michael write: This video is dedicated to Teemu (aka "Shoelace"), Wendy and the many dedicated workers, volunteers, sponsors and donors. Thank you for your caring contributions. Witnessing the endless work required to maintain the health and well-being of these intelligent creatures can only be appreciated when one sees it with their own eyes. We truly appreciate this sanctuary you are providing for the hundreds of parrots that are in need, in order that they live freely, amongst their natural flock, for the remainder of their lives.

As you may remember, the wonderful folk at Postal Depot 4, Langford, operate a concession on behalf of our parrot entrepeneurs, Ben and Andy. On Wednesdays, they also sell cookies at Depot 4 and Postal Depot 1, Victoria. We owe a big thank you to them, and a special thank you to the great people at Thrifty Foods, Broadmead, who provide double cookies for a reduced price, and have done so for the past year! A heartfelt thank you goes out to the caring people at Thrifty Foods, Broadmead!

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!

Birds who are now partly sponsored, thank you!

Birds who are now fully sponsored, thank you!

"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)

"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.