Friends come in all shapes and sizes at S.C. Cares
In 2003 the concept of S.C. CARES had begun in North Carolina.
Snuggles, an umbrella cockatoo was the second parrot we rescued. What a character she is! Snuggles gets her name honestly because snuggling is one of her favorite things to do! Full of personality, as most cockatoos are, she never meets a stranger. If you’ve been to S.C. CARES you’ve probably had an encounter with this love bug.
As many of you know S.C. CARES is not set up to handle dog/cat rescue but we do have one cat that lives in the hut with all the creatures, his name is Garfield. Garfield is a stray that we found in 2004 and taking him in was a bit risky with the other creatures we had already given home to such as birds, sugar gliders, prairie dogs and some reptiles. I was fortunate to witness an encounter between Garfield and one of the macaws which explains why Garfield is so accepting of the animals. The cat and macaw were on the floor as the macaw approached quietly behind the cat touching his tail ever so lightly to see what would happen. The two animals faced each other in a duel. The bird was in a defensive posture, wings raised and beak open, as was the cat with his paw in the air ready to swat. The two animals stared at each other for a moment as stiff as statues then it was almost as if I could hear their thoughts as they seemed to say “OK let’s just let this go”. The two animals turned away from each other and walked off. Never have we had a complication with a cat living with so many various creatures. Garfield is surely one of a kind!
Snuggles is a bit vicarious at play with Garfield attempting to “pet” him by preening his hair. Garfield is such a patient friend allowing Snuggles to touch him with her beak and foot. When he’s had enough of her advances he simply walks away. Often Snuggles will walk down the hall to try to catch up to him but usually gives up when she realizes he’s much faster than she is walking on the floor, which by the way is a funny sight to see. These two have been living companions for 12 years now and hopefully we’ll have many more years together watching these two interact.
To learn more about S.C. CARES visit our website www.sc-cares.org to arrange a tour or support these animals by donating. We survive with the generosity and kindness of our community.
This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Friends come in all shapes and sizes at S.C. Cares."