For this white Goffin’s cockatoo, being closed up in a dark basement and treated like a felon was not cool. Just because he and the new pooch in the house did not see eye to eye, the poor bird, named Cookie, was bumped to the lowest rung on the ladder.
True, Cookie and the pup had issues, but was it really necessary to shut him up in the lonely basement with not a soul around? Surely there could have been another way to deal with their domestic problems?
Happily, a friendly human came along, found Cookie, and rescued him from his dreary confines.
When Yazhi Yung, a pretty girl from Montreal, Canada, came to know about Cookie’s plight in 2015, she decided to take him under her wing.
Cookie was unnaturally shy at first when he went to stay with Yazhi—Goffin’s cockatoos are not known to be shy by nature. It was the unpleasant basement experience that caused him to withdraw into his shell.
Yazhi opened her heart and her home to Cookie and gave him space to find himself again. Having several other parrots and critters, she understood his needs.
“So they just decided to put Cookie in the basement. He was in a cage—no toys, no nutrition, without lights, and without windows. It was sad. He didn’t get to choose.
“With me, he could have a happier life and a healthier life,” she said.
But Goffins are a handful, and if one does not have the energy or time to train them properly, it’s better not to have one. Interesting toys are a must. Being highly intelligent birds, they need a challenge. Goffin’s cockatoos’ specialty is undoing complicated locks in record time, and so a spacious, well-constructed cage is strongly advised.
These birds love being the center of attention, but just like small children, they need to know their boundaries.
Yazhi described Cookie’s rehabilitation, “At first he was shy, he was super quiet. He didn’t care about me at first.
“I just knew I had to give him more time. I just let him walk around and be free in the house. After a year, he started to be more curious about everything. I love to give him opportunities to see things and try things.”
Then, something in Cookie’s heart unlocked. “One day, he started to come near me, and I started to give him food. I think that was the moment when he started to trust again.”
Cookie is on the road to recovering from his unhappy past. He’s becoming the most loving parrot one could ever imagine thanks to the patience of his kindhearted owner.
He follows Yahzi around, strokes her cheek, and combs her hair with his beak. Cookie perches proudly on his human’s shoulder—it’s plain to see that he adores her.
It makes one wonder who has taken whom under their wing after all.
