He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge-Psalms 91:4

Snowball

My name is Snowball and I am a Medium Sulphur-Crested Eleanora Cockatoo.  I LOVE to dance!  Some of us are talented enough to whistle a tune, talk, swing upside down and around, and dance.  Some of us are smart enough to count and even train our owners to do what we want them to do.  And they think they're training us.  Shhh.  Let's keep it secret, guys!

I came to Bird Lovers Only Rescue in August of 2007 when my previous owner decided it was best for me to go to a home where I could get more attention.  Plus, I'm in my teenage years and I've gotten to be a handful.  I admit it.  Hey, what teen isn't?  The only difference between me and a human teenager is that I NEVER get the keys to the car!  But I guess it's a fine trade-off for getting scritches under my wings and kissed on my crest.  Ahhh...thanks mom.

I love my new mom.  The first time she saw me dance, she nearly fell out of her chair.  "We have got to tape him dancing!" I heard her tell dad.  "And we should put him on our web site.  This is too funny to keep to ourselves.  Look at how he gets into this music!"  Mom continued as she was wiping away the tears of laughter.  I still don't get why my dancing is so funny to her.  I think I'm pretty darned good.  Like she can do better?

Well, none of us knew that my dancing video would brighten so many days across the globe!  Before you knew it, I was an internet sensation...phenomenon!  Who would have thought?  Emails started pouring in from all over the country, then Canada, then Europe, then Australia, then Africa, then Asia, and finally South America.  I guess the polar bears in Antarctica don't have internet access. 

Then the media caught on.  I became the Spokesbird for parrots around the world.  Not many had heard of bird rescues.  They didn't know this was a place for us to go when we can't stay with our owners anymore.  I have made a lot of friends here.  There's this cute female sulphur-crested Eleanora cockatoo named Ellie.  She's hot.  She doesn't seem to be too interested in me though.  I guess she hasn't seen my video. 

There are some other guys that I hang out with though when I'm not with mom.  One of them is Cory, a moluccan cockatoo.  Mom says he suffers from separation anxiety.  Whenever she leaves the room, he starts screaming.  He's louder than I am!  I stay away from the macaws, though.  They like to lunge.  But I'm quicker.  Swing and a miss! 

Yep.  There sure are a lot of birds up for adoption over here.  Mom is patient with us though.  She knows she has to earn the trust of some of the ones that have been abused or neglected.  When they bite her she doesn't take it personally.  Some of them bite her because they're afraid.  They don't realize that she's nice and isn't going to hurt them like the person that had them before. But there's no way for them to know that.  Sometimes she sits down in a chair next to them and she reads.  It's not like she reads anything good like the funnies, but it's the tone of her voice.  It's calming.

I like it here.  Mom thought she was being selfish by wanting to keep me here.  She had mixed feelings about whether to offer me sanctuary here or adopt me out.  I had to act quickly.  I knew she was inviting some people over to see what a cute and sweet bird I was.  I bit three people that night.  Mom picked me up and I was fine.  I didn't know how else to tell her that I wanted to stay.  Mom understood me.  She let me be me...and loved me for it.

Signed,

Snowball

Visit Snowball's Veterinarian - www.drkarenbecker.com