LIVE: Pet Connection: Meet the Macaws

WEST FARGO — Giving Hearts Day is a critical day to refill the coffers at the region’s many animal welfare nonprofits.

And it’s coming just in time to help save the region’s only pet parrot and bird rescue.

The Center for Avian Adoption, Rescue and Education, or CAARE, had to shut down almost a year ago after an outbreak of deadly avian circovirus, or beak and feather disease.

They sent the animals to foster homes and to a Minneapolis shelter while they began the long, hard task of getting the facility disinfected and sanitized.

At one point, the task of eradicating all possibility of the virus spreading was so overwhelming, volunteers say they were worried they might not ever reopen.

It meant they needed lot of extra hands to move all the supplies out of the building, then get to work scrubbing and disinfecting everything from the ceiling to the nuts and bolts on the cages.

If they couldn’t get it done, that would mean abandoned and abused birds in the region, like the two neglected macaws volunteer Bree Kuntz took in, would have no place to go to seek help and care.

And now, with her help and patience, her rescues Kayla and Paco finally trust humans again.

CAARE is entirely volunteer-driven by the work of people like Kuntz.

She says the organization relies heavily on funds from the Giving Hearts Day event.

She joined the Morning Show to talk about what it takes to properly care for a parrot, and the work that goes in to saving one of these beautiful birds.

https://www.caare.net/

https://app.givingheartsday.org/