I'm reaching out for a bit of support for a friend. Anybody who cares about their pets, be they a dog, cat, bird, snake...anything...might want to throw their support into this cause.

Said friend is going through a very messy divorce. Both he and his ex were known and involved with a local bird rescue. The wife moreso than him, but regardless, the rescue knew that they were married - in fact, their home was an approved foster home for the organization and they had fostered several birds in the past. As a couple, they owned several birds, including three cockatiels.

When the wife moved out, she had made arrangements with the local rescue to temporarily take one of the birds with the intent that once she was settled in a permanent location she'd come retrieve him. My friend and his ex had come to an agreement with the pets. She was getting the cats and this bird, he was keeping the three cockatiels. So when the rescue came and promptly removed ALL the birds from the household, it came as a shock. From what he described, the removal of the cockatiels was done in a very duck-and-run manner. All their things were left behind and they were shoved into the car so fast he could barely register his protest.

Turns out the wife signed surrender paperwork for ALL the birds, against the agreement she had with my friend. The paperwork however DOES require you to answer whether or not anybody else has any claim to the birds. Under the law, the birds were considered communal property in the marriage, so my friend did indeed have a claim on them. In short, the wife lied on the surrender form in order to remove birds she didn't want so her ex-husband who did want them couldn't have them. For some reason beyond my understanding, even when my friend presented proof of joint ownership (vet records, statements from the folk that gave the birds to them as a gift to both parties, not just the wife) the rescue is refusing to budge.

It's been four months since my friend had his beloved birds taken from him. And to add insult to injury, he hadn't even been given status updates beyond "they're in a foster home". For all he knows, all three of the birds are dead. It's certainly a possibility for one of them, who was a senior when they took her in. Another of the birds is strongly bonded to him and could be pining away.

Facebook group showing support: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?g.....29336257115555

Update post on LJ, written by the housemate of my friend and his ex: http://community.livejournal.com/pa.....s/4411691.html

A more current update: http://community.livejournal.com/pa.....s/4433701.html

A news article on the situation: http://www.examiner.com/parrot-in-n.....ntions-go-bad?