03/16/2022
As some of you have already learned, Miss Vicki departed this life last week, after a battle with leukemia.
Vicki approached death with the same matter-of-fact and can-do attitudes that she exhibited in life, taught her children, and inspired others to follow. I’ll never forget her story about teaching her children to “problem solve”. As a result, I use that phrase occasionally at home, notably when I try to encourage my little bird to unravel a difficult foraging toy.
For about ten years of her life, Vicki worked tirelessly (and if you ever met her, you know this is not just an expression) to help parrots and parrot people. She was most fond of Cockatoos, and especially Moluccan Cockatoos, like her beloved M2 Mulligan, the source of her parrot interest, who himself was a “ransom rescue”. I am proud to have been one of her helpers for many years, and thoroughly enjoyed introducing her to the wonderful world of macaws, and helping in various ways.
Her ability to connect with parrots of all species was uncanny. It was as though they all realized very quickly that she was their friend and guide to a better future. She often accepted the most troubled parrots from other rescues, and managed to rehabilitate them, sometimes beyond what was thought to be possible. In some cases the poor care of their prior homes led to shorter lives, but those parrots always knew Vicki loved them, and they loved her back.
Vicki spent hours learning all she could about parrots and how to best care for them. Even after many years, and hundreds of parrot-years of experience, she was never satisfied that she knew enough about parrot care. That’s one lesson I try to keep in mind.
We sadly accepted the closure of the rescue a few years ago. Vicki managed to find transfer destinations for the birds of MVPV at the time, thanks to her good relationships with other rescues. A few birds remaining were her personal birds. One was Princess Buttercup, G2, a survivor of self-mutilation, and an example of Vicki’s ability to heal birds in spirit and body.
I’m thankful that Vicki chose to devote so much time and energy to helping parrots and parrot people, and thankful that I could call her my friend. I’m a better person and better parrot companion for having known her. And I suspect many of you feel the same way. I searched through hundreds of photos to find one I thought represented Vicki and what she meant to the birds of The Village. The one here does just that – it was never about Vicki, and she didn’t usually like to have her picture taken. But she loved the birds and the birds loved her.
Hopefully my words will help you, just as writing them has helped me. I’ll add a link to her obituary and some of my favorite Village pics in the comments.
