Such a sad story..Heartbreaking. Makes us all sit up and pay attention and learn from other’s expereinces.. Can’t even imagine how the bird suffered!!!!

I have seen parents who have forgotten their children in a bank because they forgot that they brought the child with them. Yes it is hearbreaking but it happens because people are to preoccupied with other things that appear to be more important.

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a stroller for my parrot? My email address is aquadarling@hotmail.com. Thank you.

We would not leave our cockateil when we had a cyclone but insisted that she come with us we were not going to go to safety and leave her behind she is so precious one of the family

Stashing your bird under the table at meal time is cute??? NO! It’s a scenario courting tragedy. Two people posted that they do that. Whether at home or at a restaurant, this is subjecting them to a possible death by trampling!!! In a restaurant the waiter could come to the table and move a chair to be better able to serve the patrons and the Bird will be smashed. People at home sitting at the dinner table could suddenly hear the phone or some sort of noise outside—the scenarios are endless—and rush to get up, forgetting about the bird in their excitement, and the chair could mangle or kill the bird. THINK, people! THINK!

What a horrible thing for owner and bird.My heart goes out to you,no metter how it happened.To all that say “Keep your pets at home”,I say I am sorry for your pets.Just like my kids ,my animals are a part of my family,and just like them I arrange things to entertain them.We have 2 pet stores in the area that let your bring your pets in and all the workers know my pets and kids by sight.We take our parrot Emma in and she loves it when people pet her and talk to her.My Sheltie also loves to go and walks around with Emma on her back.How boring it would be to be stuck home all the time and never see new things and new people.I am VERY careful with my babies while we are out having adventures,and of course only plan places to go that I know they can go in,not sit in a hot Or cold car.God Bless and happy adventures to you all!!

People seem to be getting hung up on whether it’s worse to lose a child or a pet. Surely the issue is abusive behaviour, rather than who or what it’s directed at. So far as my understanding goes, abusing domestic pets, abusing animals in the slaughterhouse and abusing human beings of any age are all symptomatic of a society in which newspapers can report events from soaps as if they had happened in reality. Being unhinged from reality is a serious problem which seems to affect the majority of the population – here in the UK, at least. I see parents walking along the road with their children, but taking no notice of them, preferring to have long conversations on their mobile phones instead. Viewing television, rather than communicating as a family, is the norm and completely socially acceptable as a major leisure occupation, children often being told to keep quiet … or leave the room – unattended, of course. It’s easy to shout blame at individuals for their negligence, but blame doesn’t help change people. If anything, it entrenches the “blameworthy” defensively in their attitudes, and thereby inhibits change for the better. Isn’t there a biblical quote about someone “casting the first stone”? Certainly, abusive treatment of animals needs to be controlled, along with abusive treatment of human beings. The question is: where do people want the control exercised and where do people think its limitations should be defined? My personal choice is to avoid eating animal flesh, and I’d encourage anyone else who was thinking of doing likewise, for reasons of both ethics and health. But if I were to denounce everyone I come across who eats meat and fish etc, I’d probably find myself completely ostracised by all my acquaintances. I utterly deplore modern methods of intensive meat production, but to remain influencial in helping people to develop, I have to be a member of society, not a self-appointed judge. According to my understanding, which derives partly from working with adolescents who have been excluded from school, unconditional acceptance of the person, but not their behaviour, is the first step to effective communication and support. Only when people feel loved are we able to relax our guard enough to develop. We may feel the love from other human beings, from animals, from God, from the universe or any combination of these and others, but it is through self-respect – self-love, if you like – that we grow, and this comes from the affirmation we feel from others. As our self-respect develops and thrives, our respect for others does likewise, and with respect (I don’t mean deference or fear) comes caring and nurturing. By all means, abhor abuse and negligence, but the answer is to be a light, not a judge.

i lost my oliver ,not the same way ,but i guess iresponsibility for al of 5-8 minutes…but it was the most horrible feeling to live with when you know it could have been unavoidable ..i lost ollie in febuary ..i was busy on the phone and in 9 minutes ,,well what happened happened ,i never stop watching his videos i still cry over my stupidity ,i can not forgive my self for being selfish at that time..so please don’t give me a hard time .i wish he were here and it was like loosing my baby ..i can hardly type aout it …i am and will always be devasted ,he was like loosing a child ,he was 3 yrs old…and i’m so sorry .. i have 3 dogs and a parrolette,but the hole for ollie is still and will always be there i watch his videos all the time ..he’s on you tube i was a new bird owner at the time .but him and i were best friends ,you can waych and see,just don’t get on my case ok i’m on my case enough

losing a pet is very sad,especially wheb it`s your fault that poor animal died.People should be carefull and not make foolish and remorsefull and regrettable mistakes like this unless they know there going to see their beloved pet in heaven someday.

Our birds stay at home where they belong. If someone wants to see our beautiful birds they can come to the house. Same goes for ALL of our pets. 3 birds, 3 dogs, 1 cat, 2 ducks. ALL well fed & loved. Even if we were inclined to take a pet for a ride, NOT in this heat!

georgia kula, i do the same thing…..and we have central air going out there too, but sitll constantly monitor the temp

I’m sorry, I don’t get why some people NEED too take their pet everywhere. The ONLY time the are in the car w/ me is vet/groomer trips….I have seen dogs that have jumped out the window after something, pets in a car looking miserable while owner is getting a mani/pedi. Downtown festivals in the middle of summer, hot , crowded, on blacktop, with the poor dogs walking around where u also run the risk of biting someone who doesn’t know better….Keep your animals at home!!!!!!!!

@james seller, since u so smart and know a lot bout birds you should open ur own business see how well you do, I believe chet knows a lot and thanks to him I have learn a lot, how many people have u help?

I just wanted to let people know that there are many dangers around the house as well. Just to name a few- other pets in the house ( including other unfamiliar birds), strings hanging off curtains or toys / rope perches, cooking with a bird loose in the house, using sprays etc in the birds space / area, other things that may cause the bird stress. The reason I bring it up is because I lost my IRN over a year ago and I can’t forget her. Honey played with our Border Collie and they played well together as Keisha was very gentle with Honey – both wanting someone to play with and they found each others company exciting and stimulating. Playing with the ball being their favourite game. This particular day our routine had changed and instead of my son giving the dog a chewy raw hide, I gave it to her. Because I gave it to gee, she saved it till the end of the day when I was home to eat it. I didn’t know this at the time and she found a quiet place under the table to eat it. Honey went looking for Keisha and found her under the table. As she approached Keisha growled angrily at her. This scared Honey immensely as she had never heard Keisha growl quite like that before and whether it was stress or a heart attack or she bumped her head on the chair leg, Honey died almost instantly. It still makes me upset when I remember it but hopefully this will help others to be more cautious with their animals. And just for the record, Keisha didn’t bite Honey, as they didn’t get close enough and I witnessed the incident. As a result, my whole family was devastated including Honey’s bird companion (an Alexandrine) and Keisha who had lost a playmate.

I don’t understnd that Shooter’s qwner did not realize her mistake. Even if she was busy at the start of her day, at some point didn’t she think of Shooter? After all, there must have been a reason she needed to take him to work that day. If this was routine, his absence would have been more obvious. I feel somehow we are not getting the whole story. Is it possible she was not allowed to bring him in and chose, unfortunately, to leave him in the car? By the way, don’t expect restaurants to allow you to bring pets inside, even in carriers, as it is illegal in most states, if not all.

In Australia A man did this wth his baby. He was distressed about work and forgot to take the baby to childcare. He went to work and the baby died. It was a complete accident, not neglect. I hope Shooter died very fast. Nicola

I think many have lost the plot; so to speak! The point was not “I seek sympathy” , or whatever – : the writer was sharing this, no doubt feeling awful..BUT sought that in-so-sharing..Others NOT err in this respect.. No one seemed to ‘get it’.

I remember the exact same story as this happening with a child, it featured on a television show some time ago. The father was meant to drop the child of to daycare on his way to work, which was something that the mother usually did, once he got the freeway he just got into his normal routine of going to work and forgot he had the child in the car. Yes, the child died also. It wasn’t realized until late that afternoon when someone walked past the car. We all lead busy lives and get caught up in our usual routines, but it is sad stories like these that make us think when we put our children and our pets into our cars. I would like to thank you for publishing the story on Shooter, by letting people know how easily mistakes can be made you have probably saved the lives of many pets and children. I would also like to thank you for all the stories that you publish, I have two birds, an Indian ring-neck that can talk unbelievably and a 12month old Alexandrine. I have used a lot of the information that you have given to ensure their safety and care.

My heart goes out to Shooters family. You obviously loved Shooter very much to want to take him to work to be with you. Unfortunately these sort of things happen all too frequently and as hard as the lesson is it is important to learn from it. Thankyou for sharing the story as I hope that others will learn from it as well. To the other people who have been unsympathetic – where is your humanity and empathy? Tragedies happen especially in today’s society where we are always on the go and unfortunately mistakes happen. Shooters family didn’t plan for him to die. It was an accident, and a very costly one. One that they will never forget and possibly never forgive themselves for. How about cutting them a break? I am just as upset about reading this story as you are but let’s spread the word and teach others how to look after their birds so these tragic circumstances don’t reoccur, PLEASE! St

But how did the lady forget her bird? This is what is puzzling to me.

This is so sad to read. What a sad mix up the mother and daughter had that day. Poor bird must have suffered terribly in that heat. And they wouldn’t have let that happen to him if there hadn’t been such a sad mix up of circumstances. This is so sad. I will pray for the family that lost Shooter. And pray this does not happen to any other bird, animal or human.

I love how the article was written to divert attention away from what really happened and who screwed up. “It was then that they realized what had happened, Lorna had gone to her job and her mother to hers without realizing that the bird was still in the car.” Um….NO..what happened was the owner put him in her mother’s car, and didn’t take the bird out when she was dropped off at work!!! That bird was HER responsibility!

Lost my Quacker Parakeet today…He was sick when I got him but hopefully he had 9 months of a wonderful life with my other 8 birds…This is a long story short…Plus my heart goes out to “the Birdman” who kept his beak trimmed every so often…I love my birds…all rehomed…PEACE

Oh my gosh!! had similar incident last sunday..but just got lucky. I took my babies..GCC to clip wings. while returning..was so stupid left them in the car 90degree outside with windows rolled down as they were in travel cage came back in10 minutes..they were in one corner with their mouth open and tongue sticking out and wiggling like suffocating to breathe..very scary and i realized what i did and immediately pulled out the water bottle and opened the cage and turned up the AC and fed them water..they drank like crazy and and in one minute turned normal..will never ever do that stupid mistake again. that was a blessing they revived.

I could NEVER,EVER do that. How some people can forget things is normal but an animal or child…NO! I’ve nver even left my lunch in the car and went into work…dear God!