My name is Tokey and I have an important rescue story to share. I was stolen from my nest in Indonesia when I was a baby bird and transported to the United States to be sold to a family who wanted an exotic "pet." What my family didn't realize is I am a highly sentient being who requires LOTS of love, affection, care, and attention. I'm not just a pet to be kept in a cage. Though my family had me for 20 years, eventually I became too much for them to care for and I was abandoned by my family at a pet store in Sarasota, Florida... I spent the next 20 years of my life behind bars in a boarding cage in the back room of the store without natural lighting. I had no toys because I would destroy everything I could get a hold of--I needed something to keep me entertained. I bit everyone who came close to me out of fear they wouldn't understand me... until I met my human companion, J Bird. She was just a kid with no fear. She talked to me, sang to me, and provided me with company and comfort that I had not yet experienced in this life. We bonded immediately. It was like we already knew each other across time and space. On the first day I met her, she promised me she would find a way to free me from my prison one day. But since my original family continued to pay the monthly boarding fee, the store continued to profit from my imprisonment and I was unable to leave. J Bird continued to visit me for eight years until the store finally shut down and she was given approval to bring me home. 

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Today, I am grateful for the boundless unconditional love and freedom I have been given to start my life over. When J Bird found me, I was missing most of my feathers because I had nothing else to do besides pull them out. I have been restored to being a healthy 52 year old cockatoo who loves adventure and meeting new friends. I am even now learning how to fly on my own, knowing I will always fly by my rescuer's side. My life has only just begun...