Brianna Stoddard walks to her door with a parrot on her shoulder. The blue and gold Macaw inches along Brianna\u2019s arm, sidestepping to her hand. Brianna tells BB to say, \u201cHi.\u201d The parrot\u2019s head cocks from side to side. Its gold chest feathers rise a little and it shakes off with its long blue wings. BB remains quiet, though.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inside, one of BB\u2019s fellow Papayago Rescue House rehabilitated Macaws isn\u2019t shy. From its cage, it calls, \u201cHello.\u201d And if you ignore the introduction, but somehow make eye contact, BB\u2019s friend repeats a little louder, \u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All along Brianna\u2019s house are large cages for birds like BB.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thirty-two birds. Three sanctuaries. Sized from finches to a hawk. Brianna has been rescuing birds since 2014, when she helped found Papayago Rescue House.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had birds since I was a little girl,\u201d she said. \u201cWe started with 16. There\u2019s not many rescues for birds in Georgia. We saw the need for us to step in, because birds like BB need our help.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brianna explained that BB is a 35-year-old parrot and will go on to live until 70 or 80. Many birds like BB will have a very long life, she went on, and most of the time the bird\u2019s living situation will not be consistent over its lifetime, causing problems with the bird\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brianna said that BB was in that same situation and when BB arrived in their care, the parrot was clearly on a poor diet and was beginning to pluck out all its feathers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst we try to see if there is a problem we can help the current owner address, because we want to help educate people about birds,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people contact us with problems that can be fixed with training, then if the person still wants to surrender the bird, we then take the bird in, bring it here, and put it through a 30-day quarantine period. Then we begin to rehabilitate the bird.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One of the best parts of the process, though, Brianna added, is finding the bird a great, new home. Last year, Papayago Rescue House helped 15 birds become adopted. Almost 100 birds have been rescued to date.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It\u2019s probably no surprise that Brianna is planning on becoming a veterinarian with a specialization in avian medicine, but she said she has wanted to be a veterinarian since she was six years old and she\u2019s proud to have made her start at Georgia Highlands College.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cGHC has really given me a chance to make a lot of great connections. I love how one-on-one it is. The school provides so many different opportunities,\u201d she said, \u201cand it has helped give me the education I need to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After completing her Associate of Science in Biology, Brianna is looking forward to completing her bachelor\u2019s and then applying to veterinarian school in the next two to three years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To learn more about Brianna\u2019s rescue program, please visit: http:\/\/papayagorescuehouse.org\/<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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