Each year, the Richmond Animal League closes down a city block, invites a ton of dog rescue groups and dog-related vendors, and hosts a successful fundraiser they call-ever so cutely-Woofstock. Melissa Messick, Phoenix Landing Richmond coordinator, decided that an event attended by hundreds of pet owners and animal lovers might be a good place to set up a booth and try to get the word out about what we do. So, that’s just what we did!

We talked the talk all day with the help of some special Phoenix Landing parrots. Red Bird, a scarlet macaw, worked her magic to draw in the crowds with her bright feathers and cheerful macaw antics. Grayson, a Congo African grey, took in every detail with his wise, observant grey parrot demeanor. It was his first big outing since leaving an especially difficult previous situation, and he was a real champ. A little over a year ago, he was a plucked and defeated little soul; last Saturday he was a fully-feathered charmer in full glory. Tuke, a double yellow headed amazon, is an especially well-chosen ambassador for Phoenix Landing since he is nearly 40 years old. His more advanced age gave us opportunities to talk about the long life spans of these birds and the fact that all will need multiple homes throughout their lives.

A number of people mentioned they’d heard of Phoenix Landing and said it was good to put faces to the name. Hopefully, thanks to Melissa’s good idea and efforts, we were able to connect with some folks who may be able to help us help parrots.