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Admitting that his nerves are jangled, Bob Laukaitis springs from his couch and peers through binoculars. "There's Dr. Pla," he says. "It's OK," Laukaitis says, stroking Apollo, his favorite. "Daddy won't let anyone hurt you. " When Jose Pla, a veterinarian from Rutherford Animal Hospital, enters Laukaitis' digs -- a 58-foot yacht anchored at Meadowlands Marina in East Rutherford -- Apollo, a green-and-yellow South American Conure, and about 15 other birds break into a cacophonous chorus of concern. Jose Pla's house call -- in fact, his first -- doesn't delight the feathered patients, but the doctor's well-care visit is just one example of the serious approach Laukaitis employs in raising and breeding exotic birds.
"Most people don't bring their birds to the hospital unless they get sick," said Pla, who had a stethoscope draped on one shoulder and a Sun Conure propped on the other. The doctor praised Laukaitis for integrating fruit, vegetables, and vitamin supplements into the birds' seed diet, and for sterilizing the water and letting the four Conures fly freely in the cabin. "These birds are being raised in a very natural environment, and this is a good thing," Pla said, referring to the way Laukaitis has turned much of his yacht's main cabin into a bird habitat -- a landscape of driftwood perches, swings, cages, ladders, and breeding boxes.
By all accounts, Laukaitis' devotion to the wild kingdom is boundless. One of a small number of bird breeders in North Jersey, Laukaitis has substituted a traditional lifestyle for one that more closely resembles Dr. Doolittle's. Friends and neighbors tell incredible-but-true stories about the 43-year-old, rail-thin Laukaitis, whose gray ponytail trails down his back.
Connie Smith, a friend, once found a squirrel near death. She took it to Laukaitis, who performed CPR, saving the animal's life. One summer -- he has the pictures to prove it -- Laukaitis swam with a seal that had gotten disoriented and wound up in the marina. The seal was so comforted by Laukaitis that it returned the next year. Laukaitis has performed more mundane acts of heroism, such as mending a sea gull's wing and rescuing a baby opossum, that now lives on his boat.
Simply, he seems to prefer animal companionship. "He just gets along better with birds than he does humans," said Jim Clark, Laukaitis' neighbor and the only other year-round boat dweller in the marina. "He just doesn't seem to need a whole lot of contact with humans."
It is unclear why Laukaitis, who is the dock master for the Meadowlands Marina, has a better rapport with animals. But, he does not hide his intolerance for human foibles. He shakes his head when he talks about people loitering at the marina. He doesn't understand why boaters create wakes on the Hackensack -- an offense that merits a $500 ticket.
He says he's been engaged to marry four times, but never, never again. Laukaitis says his heart's gone to the birds. He began collecting Conures, Lories, Parrotlets -- birds from the parrot family -- 14 months ago. These exotic South American and Australian birds are banned from being imported to the United States and can fetch up to $500 in pet stores.
It all began when he noticed a bobbing yellow head in a pet store. He took the bird home, named it Apollo, and discovered that it was very ill. "I spent two weeks waking up every few hours to baby her," Laukaitis said. He became obsessed with birds and began breeding them a few months ago. Like a woman with a shoe fetish, Laukaitis collects them in pairs.
Bird enthusiasts such as Annette Sherman, one of the founders of The Real Macaw Parrot Club, a 300-member organization in North Jersey, extols the breeding of exotic birds in captivity because these species are disappearing with the destruction of rain forests. She said it's important to raise them in loving, nurturing environments, and not in mass-scale, mill fashion. "Bob loves his birds," Sherman said. "These are his babies. He's not happy unless each bird has a companion. Taking care of these birds is a lot of work, an all-day affair."
Lately, Laukaitis, who has a general equivalency diploma, is thinking about taking a veterinarian's correspondence course. He has joined the Real Macaw club. And, he says that too many people who buy birds end up giving them away. "I want to start a program with a hospital that pairs up rehabilitating elderly people and birds that need to be adopted," Laukaitis said. Laukaitis said he would be willing to gather donated birds, cages, and food, and turn them over to Hackensack University Medical Center's home health volunteer program. Angela Altschuler, director of the hospital's volunteer service, said, "This could be a very advantageous program for elderly, home-bound people who live alone. There is no better companionship than having a pet."
As a small boy growing up in Livingston, Laukaitis used to drag home stray and injured animals. Over time, he's owned a wildcat, a monkey, and a chinchilla. Oddly, he credits an act of violence for his love of animals. Choking up slightly, Laukaitis recalls being 10 years old and aiming a slingshot into the sky. "I hit a bird, and it fell down dead," Laukaitis said. "That was the worst feeling I ever had in my whole life. It was like I had a black cloud over me. I had killed an animal. The bird was innocent. Helpless. It was the stupidest thing I ever did."
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