110 parakeets

[Guest guest]

110 parakeets taken from man; up for adoption

Owner had been collecting birds for five years

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY

P-I REPORTER

Humane law enforcement officers discovered 110 parakeets in an

apartment in the 4200 block of Ninth Avenue Northeast in Seattle on

Tuesday.

" It sounded like a flock inside this apartment, " said Neil Deruyter,

a humane law enforcement officer with the Seattle Humane Society,

adding that several neighbors had complained. " You could hear the

noise from the street. "

The owner, who Deruyter said is in his 50s, admitted conditions for

the bright, multicolored birds were less than ideal and the animals

were beginning to overwhelm him. He had been collecting birds in his

one-bedroom apartment for about five years, officers said.

The owner's name was not released.

Officers said he tried to give the birds, which are about 6 inches

long, to another shelter, but authorities there said they would keep

only five and euthanize the rest.

" Our policy is that if the animals are healthy and adoptable, we

don't euthanize them, " Deruyter said.

Deruyter could hear the chirps when he parked outside the apartment

about 8 a.m. Tuesday. From the sound of them, he figured there were

about 50 parakeets.

" I was stunned to see there were 110, " he said. " They were all in one

cage in the living room of the one-bedroom apartment. ... There was a

lot of feces and debris in the cage and a good layer of dust on

everything. "

Another officer, who was taking care of a cat earlier this month near

the apartment, alerted Deruyter when she noticed dozens of birds

through a window.

Deruyter left a notice for the owner, but didn't hear back. After a

few more visits, he left a notice of animal cruelty -- an offense

that can be a felony -- and got a phone message that day.

" I think he finally realized that we weren't going away, " humane law

enforcement Officer said.

Seattle Animal Shelter Executive Director Don Jordan said

animal-cruelty charges against the owner will not be filed because of

the cooperation, but humane law enforcement officers plan to meet him

periodically to make sure he's taking care of the birds he still has.

After retrieving the 110 birds, Deruyter took 10 of the birds that

had trouble flying to a veterinarian, then made room in the shelter

for the remaining parakeets. The birds were put up for adoption

Tuesday.

" These birds do very well when they're engaged with humans, " Jordan

said. " The ideal end to this story would be all of the birds are

adopted into caring, loving homes. "

TO ADOPT A PARAKEET

Take a cage. Cages must be at least 20 inches by 12 inches by 18

inches for one bird, or 40 inches by 20 inches by 32 inches for a

pair.

Fill out

<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20070328/AdoptionForm1.pdf>the

small-animal-adoption questionnaire.

The Seattle Animal Shelter reserves the right to refuse adoption,

animal care officer Kokernak said. Renters must bring

authorization from a landlord, he said.

Parakeets can be adopted form noon to 6 p.m. daily. The Seattle

Animal Shelter is at 2061 15th Ave. W. Phone: .

P-I reporter Casey McNerthney can be reached at or

caseymcnerthney@....

© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer