All About Cockatoos (2002) • Hacker News Board

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#21

Post by msrenee » Sun, May 16, 2021, 7:34 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #15

msrenee wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My advice to anyone who talks to me about wanting a cockatoo, or any large bird really, is don't. If you're asking me about them, then you don't know what you're getting into. If you don't intend to devote a substantial portion of your life to that animal, it will not work. Personally, I'd never own an animal smarter than a conure. And a conure is really pushing it. If I ever get the cats wrangled well enough and am…

Seconded. I've seen people get them 'because they're so cute' and then after a couple of years reality sinks in and they realize that they're on the hook for the better part of their lives and then sooner rather than later there is the mysterious case of the disappearing bird.

I've got a friend who keeps an eye on the big humane society in town. She's adopted an iguana, some pigeons, and is trying to talk me into a couple quail. The shelter has no idea how to house or home these animals. The pigeons were in a canary cage for example. So she takes them in and gets them the care they need and either rehomes them herself or gets in touch with rescue groups. Her last pair of pigeons is now raising abandoned mourning doves at a wildlife rehab center.

I don't understand how people can purchase these animals on a whim without doing any research. Some of them really care and are just in over their heads, but many don't understand that these are living things. I rode horses, worked in barns, and took lessons for 7 years before I even thought about buying one. My mare ended up falling into my lap before I was even intending to purchase. And for all the hours I'd spent caring for and training them, I had no idea what I was doing half the time. Thankfully I had a lot of support in those early years.

And don't even get me started on fish. I worked in a pet store for a couple years and it was the most draining job I've ever had. People just don't care or don't realize what goes into caring for exotic animals. The idea that those folks who wanted a bowl for their goldfish are also thinking about a parrot sends shivers down my spine.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#22

Post by jacquesm » Sun, May 16, 2021, 10:22 PM UTC

msrenee wrote: post #21

jacquesm wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded. I've seen people get them 'because they're so cute' and then after a couple of years reality sinks in and they realize that they're on the hook for the better part of their lives and then sooner rather than later there is the mysterious case of the disappearing bird.

I've got a friend who keeps an eye on the big humane society in town. She's adopted an iguana, some pigeons, and is trying to talk me into a couple quail. The shelter has no idea how to house or home these animals. The pigeons were in a canary cage for example. So she takes them in and gets them the care they need and either rehomes them herself or gets in touch with rescue groups. Her last pair of pigeons is now rai…

For a macabre experiment you could set up a nice ML project for counting the number of fish flushed down toilets in any major city.

One person I knew had a death in the family, next thing you know she's buying a Samoyed pup as a 'life affirming' thing. Guess how that ended. People are completely dumb when it comes to having pets.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#23

Post by msrenee » Mon, May 17, 2021, 12:42 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #22

msrenee wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got a friend who keeps an eye on the big humane society in town. She's adopted an iguana, some pigeons, and is trying to talk me into a couple quail. The shelter has no idea how to house or home these animals. The pigeons were in a canary cage for example. So she takes them in and gets them the care they need and either rehomes them herself or gets in touch with rescue groups. Her last pair of pigeons is now rai…

For a macabre experiment you could set up a nice ML project for counting the number of fish flushed down toilets in any major city. One person I knew had a death in the family, next thing you know she's buying a Samoyed pup as a 'life affirming' thing. Guess how that ended. People are completely dumb when it comes to having pets.

For all my effort and research, I'm sure I've flushed more fish than the average person. I don't even want to think about what percentage of the animals I sold during my time there lived their natural lifespan. Not many, I'm sure. Sometimes I think it would be better to give up fishkeeping altogether for the sake of the individuals. But if you've got an aquarium in your house and you're passionate about it, I'd think you're more likely to contribute to conservation efforts.

Sometimes I think about opening a pet store and being the soup nazi for fish and rodents. And sending every spare dime to conservation efforts for those animals in the wild. In the meantime, I'll donate what I can where I think it will do the most good. It's not much, but I hope it makes some kind of impact.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#24

Post by msrenee » Mon, May 17, 2021, 1:40 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #22

msrenee wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got a friend who keeps an eye on the big humane society in town. She's adopted an iguana, some pigeons, and is trying to talk me into a couple quail. The shelter has no idea how to house or home these animals. The pigeons were in a canary cage for example. So she takes them in and gets them the care they need and either rehomes them herself or gets in touch with rescue groups. Her last pair of pigeons is now rai…

For a macabre experiment you could set up a nice ML project for counting the number of fish flushed down toilets in any major city. One person I knew had a death in the family, next thing you know she's buying a Samoyed pup as a 'life affirming' thing. Guess how that ended. People are completely dumb when it comes to having pets.

A samoyed though? Beside being a spitz breed and not super social outside of the family, they don't seem like a bad choice. I have to admit that I haven't known too many though. The impression that I've gotten is that they're hairy shedding beasts, but are relatively low-maintenance as far as exercise once they're two or three years old. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

It's a better choice than a siberian or many of the sporting dogs. I don't think I'd spend much time talking someone out of a samoyed unless they had a lot of visitors to their home.

But I guess anyone who is buying an animal in a reaction to a big life event is going to be at high risk of having to rehome them. It's so foreign to me to consider buying a living thing without the intent to keep that animal happy and healthy for their natural life span. I just cannot get into that headspace.

A big part of why I was hesitant to buy a horse was the idea that I either needed to be stable enough to care for an expensive animal for 25-30 years or be able to rehome it. I couldn't bring myself to even think about selling my mare, so she's traveled around the country with us. We're at about 12 years of her being part of our lives and nowadays my husband(not a horse guy) won't even consider the idea of selling her even though I don't have the time to ride.

Oh, and the kingsnake, which I decided to take on out of a bad situation, has a lifespan of 25-30 years. My husband and I weren't married or even living together at that point and it needed a home, so I took it without consulting my husband. He was pretty upset because he doesn't care for reptiles. He was even more upset when he found out they live up to 30 years. But even the guy who doesn't like snakes was appalled when I explained what kind of living situation I got the animal out of. And now we've owned a snake for the last 6 years and it's kind of part of the family and part of the furniture. They sell for $30 as babies and people get them as easy starter pets. They are easy. Extremely easy. But I don't think most people realize that they're getting into a multi-decade commitment when they buy a snake at 18 years old.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#25

Post by jacquesm » Mon, May 17, 2021, 11:01 AM UTC

msrenee wrote: post #24

jacquesm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a macabre experiment you could set up a nice ML project for counting the number of fish flushed down toilets in any major city. One person I knew had a death in the family, next thing you know she's buying a Samoyed pup as a 'life affirming' thing. Guess how that ended. People are completely dumb when it comes to having pets.

A samoyed though? Beside being a spitz breed and not super social outside of the family, they don't seem like a bad choice. I have to admit that I haven't known too many though. The impression that I've gotten is that they're hairy shedding beasts, but are relatively low-maintenance as far as exercise once they're two or three years old. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's a better choice than a siberian or…

Small apartment, person has full time job, leaves dog unattended in the apartment. A Samoyed is a working dog, it needs to be kept busy or it will turn to boredom and destruction. It chewed its way through a set of furniture before it was dumped at the human society.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#26

Post by msrenee » Mon, May 17, 2021, 6:58 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #25

msrenee wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A samoyed though? Beside being a spitz breed and not super social outside of the family, they don't seem like a bad choice. I have to admit that I haven't known too many though. The impression that I've gotten is that they're hairy shedding beasts, but are relatively low-maintenance as far as exercise once they're two or three years old. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's a better choice than a siberian or…

Small apartment, person has full time job, leaves dog unattended in the apartment. A Samoyed is a working dog, it needs to be kept busy or it will turn to boredom and destruction. It chewed its way through a set of furniture before it was dumped at the human society.

Poor pup. Our girl ate a lot of stuff, including my cell phone early on. Was not housebroken when we got her at a year old either. She is now, certifiably, the best dog.

Dogs require work to fit into your life. I don't understand how people think they're going to buy one and it's just magically going to train itself.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#27

Post by jacquesm » Tue, May 18, 2021, 3:25 PM UTC

msrenee wrote: post #26

jacquesm wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small apartment, person has full time job, leaves dog unattended in the apartment. A Samoyed is a working dog, it needs to be kept busy or it will turn to boredom and destruction. It chewed its way through a set of furniture before it was dumped at the human society.

Poor pup. Our girl ate a lot of stuff, including my cell phone early on. Was not housebroken when we got her at a year old either. She is now, certifiably, the best dog. Dogs require work to fit into your life. I don't understand how people think they're going to buy one and it's just magically going to train itself.

Yes. It frustrates me because I can pretty much predict the future when I get messages about people getting a puppy and knowing them and/or their home situation. Relatively few people have the kind of dedication that it takes to properly care for a pet (or a child, for that matter).

I currently don't have pets. That's because I love pets.