Hello-
Thank you so much for all the support and kind words. I was just able to be in the right place at the right time. I almost didn't go but glad I did. Ban may not happen but I'm very glad birds are now included in the dialogue.
The clip/article was just a bit, here's some of what I shared...
-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth Y
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 10:37 PM
To: Mickaboo administrative staff
Subject: RE: [Mickaboo Admins] I'm here at SF City Hall
Can hardly remember what all I said but mostly-
- me and my hundreds of rescue volunteer colleagues don't do this because we want to but because we HAVE to
- Mickaboo rescues hundreds of birds every year and many come straight to rescue, never showing up in shelter stats
- That all birds, from $20 budgies and up, are extremely intelligent, emotional, opinionated, complex creatures that suffer terribly from improper and insufficient care and have 20 + year life spans
- That Mickaboo spends $15k every month on avian vet care
- That the homeless pet crisis is much bigger than people realize because rescues and volunteers are filling the gap 24/7/365
- That there need to be resources and systems and a plan in place to address the needs of homeless pets, maybe funded by pet sales tax
I focused on parrots and only said the words "doves" and "pigeons" once each. 8 )
Definitely hit a nerve and got lots of positive response and interest for the birds.
PetCo there and talked a great game about how "Adopt First" they are, their Care Sheets, their screening of potential pet buyers, their partnerships with rescues (and they're "talking with Linda of Mickaboo")...
Carisa of Rattie Ratz also spoke and did a great job. Supports the ban and/or recommended single-gender rats per store and a hold/delay in purchase of pets (like guns).
Upshot- the investigation/consideration of the ban is going to continue and birds will be added to the list of small animals. Leader of Commission expressed currently supporting the ban but agreed to continue investigation.
It was tricky to work into my schedule but I'm really glad the birds had an advocate there.
e
From: Michelle Yesney
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 10:09 PM
To: Mickaboo administrative staff
Subject: Re: [Mickaboo Admins] I'm here at SF City Hall
Fantastic! You do such good work.
On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 8:39 PM, Elizabeth Y wrote:
And was able to get birds front and center in the discussion of banning the sale of animals from SF pet stores. May make the news- Ch 7.
Elizabeth Y
www.RescueReport.org
.
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