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Become a Mickaboo Angel!
"Give of yourself as the Angels do and wonderful things will come to you." - Ramadan
Update, September 15, 2008: Thanks to increased donations in response to our calls for help, our financial status has become more sustainable. We are still in need of donations in this declining economy, and our vet bills have not decreased. However we are lifting the total ban on intake of birds while we revise our intake policies.
Mickaboo currently has approximately 250 birds in foster care. Our first commitment is to these birds and their ongoing care. For this reason, we need to use our regular donations to maintain a cash reserve for them. Thanks to Mickaboo's generous supporters, the Angel program has been a huge success. Our Angels have enabled us to take in 87 birds since May 1, 2008. These are birds we would not have been able to help without your generous donations.
Why Become an Angel to a Mickaboo Bird?
Unfortunately, many of the birds that come into Mickaboo's care have been injured, abused, neglected or are very ill. As a result, they need medical attention, behavioral training and extra love and nurturing before we can place them in adoptive homes. These birds are often times considered unadoptable at shelters and by society in general. We believe that every bird deserves a second chance. We allow each and every one of our birds as much time as they need to find that special adopter who is willing to care for them. As Mickaboo has grown, and we have taken in more birds, our monthly vet bills have increased significantly, averaging between $8,000 and $10,000 per month.
We understand that not everyone can foster or adopt a Mickaboo bird, but would still like to help. Becoming an Angel to a bird in need is the perfect way to do that! You can help us take in birds from shelters or from private surrenderers who are in a financial crisis. Your donations to Mickaboo can be directed to care for a particular bird or birds, to help defray the cost of their sometimes astronomical vet bills while they wait for forever homes.
Angel Species
When you become a Mickaboo Angel, you are helping us fulfill our commitment to keeping our doors open to ill, injured, abused, neglected and unwanted companion birds in Northern California and beyond. We invite you to become the species of Mickaboo Angel that suits you best!
- Angel: Our goal is to have an "endowment" of at least $200 before taking in a new bird. This will help us ensure that we always have sufficient funds to provide basic medical care for the birds already in our care, as well as for new birds we take in. As an Angel, you will receive recognition on our website, an email picture of your Angel bird, and regular email updates on his/her progress. If a bird is adopted without using your Angel money for vet bills, we will shift the money to the next needy bird and let you know which additional bird you have helped us bring in.
- Guardian Angel: Your donation in any amount will be used to provide ongoing medical care for a specific bird that you designate. As a Guardian Angel, you will receive recognition on our website, an email picture of your Angel bird and regular email updates on his/her progress.
- Archangel: Archangels commit to covering the full vet costs required for a new bird to be healthy enough to adopt. As an Archangel, you will receive recognition on our website, a 5 x 7 photo of your Angel bird, and regular email updates on his/her progress.
Please email angels@mickaboo.org and tell us what species of Angel you are, which bird you would like to support, and how you would like to be acknowledged on the website: full name, first name only, first name and last initial. If you do not want to specify a particular bird to support, you can also request that your donation be used for the bird most in need--we'll let you know which bird we chose.
Every Bird Gets An Equal Chance
That's the underlying principle of Mickaboo. Once a bird is in our care, we provide all the medical care s/he requires. We do not "triage" birds or spend more money on large species than small. We only euthanize a bird when s/he is suffering without the possibility of recovery. We provide hospice care for terminally ill birds who are not suffering. Since we do not have paid employees, you can be sure that your donation goes directly to the birds. Donations are 100% tax deductible. A receipt will be mailed to all donors.
Birds Waiting to be Matched with an Angel
| Date |
Species |
Name of Bird | Current Situation |
Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/2/08 | Cockatoo | Gus | Due to stressful changes in his home, Gus has plucked a hole in his chest. |  |
| 10/1/08 | Macaw | Buddy | Buddy is being returned to Mickaboo due to medical problems. He has a recurring problem with his eye & will probably be referred to an opthamologist. A bird with medical issues such as Buddy can use an Angel & many Guardian Angels as his vet bills will be very high! |  |
| 9/30/08 | Cockatoo | Lily | Lily has plucked a hole in her chest and needs immediate medical care. |  |
| 9/23/08 | Cherryhead Conure | Dolores | Injured member of the SF Wild Parrot Flock |  |
| 9/23/08 | Cherryhead Conure | Anza | Injured member of the SF Wild Parrot Flock | Coming Soon! |
Become an Angel to a MickaCoo Pigeon or Dove
Birds and Their Angels
| Angel(s) | Species | Bird Rescued | Reason for Rescue | Picture or Link to Bird's Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angels: B. Broderick, Bear & Rohan, Seattle, WA | Cockatiel | Sara | Sara and Isaac (below) were abandoned at a pet clinic with a note saying that their owner was going through a divorce and could not keep them. | 9/22/08: Picture Coming Soon! |
| Angels: B. Broderick, Bear & Rohan, Seattle, WA | Cockatiel | Isaac | Same situation as Sara (above). Isaac is a whiteface, 5 years old. | 9/22/08: Picture Coming Soon! |
| Angel: Anonymous, Vacaville, CA | Macaw | Mauro & Cleo | Mauro & Cleo's owner moved and could not take them to the new residence. | 10/1/08   |
| Angels: Kevin McCarthy & Elizabeth Chien-Hale |
Cockatiel | Brutus & Fritz | These two cockatiels and the two budgies listed below were left in the home of a person who was taken off to jail. The birds were found by an acquaintance in covered, filthy cages with no food or water. They are now under the care of an avian vet. | 9/30/08: Picture Coming Soon! |
| Angels: Brooke Moncrieff & Rob Rosensweig Watertown, MA |
Budgie | Castor & Pollux | Same as cockatiels (above). | 9/30/08: Picture Coming Soon! |
| Archangel: V.H. | Cockatiel | Gogo | A nice woman found Gogo but could not keep him. Update 9/28/08 from Gogo's foster dad: "Gogo is here and already settled in. So far he seems healthy, happy, uber-mellow and ready to make friends. We had a whistling contest all the way home, which he won". | 9/24/08  |
| Angels: Andrea Allen, Australia & The Freiesleben Family from Germany | Cockatiel | Jeremy | We were contacted by a shelter about this cockatiel. His stray hold is up & they would like us to rescue this little guy. Update 9/27/08: A very kind volunteer rescued this little guy from the shelter. He is now safe & sound! He has been very quiet & is pretty scared but hopefully he will begin to settle in real soon. He weighs only 78 grams but is eating so we should see an increase in weight soon. | 9/23/08  |
| Angel: Kevin in San Jose | Cockatiel | Annie | Annie was surrendered to a shelter by her owner. The shelter called & asked if we could take Annie in asap. Update 9/27/08: Annie's Angel very generously offered to foster her short term so we could get her out of that shelter! | 9/22/08  |
| Angel: Daniel Larsson | Budgie | Hamton | This budgie is sitting at a South Bay shelter with an injured wing. He needs to see a vet asap! Update 9/3/08: A vet has confirmed that Hamton has a broken wing. He will remain at the vet until well enough to go to a foster home. Update 9/6/08: Hamton has a compound fracture. His vet is trying to close it, but he may have to have the wing amputated. |
9/2/08: No picture available yet |
| Angel: Gabe Hand Guardian Angels: Mike Reed; Carol Cummings, in honor of Maeby, Jake, and Leelu Victoria, BC Canada; Jan Ragan; Meg Richmond; Tina G., East Palo Alto |
Cherry Head conure - wild flock | Clipper | Turned into shelter with mangled wing. This guy is going to need several angels/sponsors! The bill for setting or amputating a wing is much more than the $200 we require for intake........ |
Update 7/24: Clipper had a compound fracture of her wing (single break, but it was through the skin). It is at least a few days old and the bone is infected. She had surgery and the vet had to remove part of her elbow - so the joint may fuse as it heals. She's going to need to be on intensive antibiotics for 5-6 weeks to be sure the bone infection heals totally.   |
| Guardian Angels: Brent E. Palo Alto, Honoring Mr. Spock & Alex - Long Family, Concord |
African Grey | Jake | Jake is a very and affectionate Congo African Grey who came to Mickaboo for medical reasons. He was diagnosed with a fungal disease called Aspergillosis, in which a fungus actually grows inside of his air sacs and lungs. Asper can take a long time to eradicate, and he will be on meds for a minimum of 3 months. |  |
| Guardian Angels: Kari Terhark, Santa Clara, CA Bill Kruspe, Dorene's Dad The companions of Buddy, Wookie, and Jinge |
Macaw | Max & Rico | These boys have a very special story and their own web page: A Special Partnership. |  |
Get updates on Angel "graduates" on the Angel Graduates page.
Please visit our In Memoriam page for Angel birds we have lost.
Please note! Our birds' lives are subject to sudden changes. If a bird is removed from the Angel program, we may transfer your Angel funds to another bird in need. Becoming a bird's Angel does not imply any legal rights over the bird or its care.
