This is a true story of someone who learned the hard way. On November 7, 1996, I purchased a 4 1/2 month old baby Yellow Nape Amazon from a regional breeder. The bird was almost weaned...on one feeding. Before purchasing the bird, the breeder assured me that she had all her stock vet-checked prior to the sale. When I was at the breeders home/business, ready to bring home my new kid, which I named Curley, the breeder forwarded me a health certificate from a veterinarian in the Pompton Lakes area. It stated that the bird was, to his knowledge, healthy and free of disease. She also told me that she would not sell me the bird unless I signed a waiver. It basically stated that she was not responsible for the bird whatsoever, once I left the premises. I guess I was quite naive; after all, I was buying a vet-checked healthy bird.....right!
Well, after the 25 minute ride home, I took Curley into his new home and to meet his other feathered friends...another mistake. As soon as I set the travel cage down on the table, I noticed mucous coming from his right nostril. I just thought it may have been stress from the ride home, so I let it pass.
The following day, my girlfriend noticed the mucous again; this time it was caking up. We removed it and notified the breeder. She said to bring him back and she would accompany us to her vet. I figured that I would use her vet again, because he had Curley's history and maybe the cost of the visit would be split or free...yet
another mistake. The visit was $88 and the vet said that it was probably due to stress, nothing to worry about, however, he prescribed a medication (amoxicillin). Curley was given his meds as prescribed for the duration of 4 days. He was not getting better, actually seemed worse, very lethargic, but still had a ravenous appetite.
We called the vet again and he said to bring him in free of charge. He administered another gram stain, throat culture and a basic look-over. Again, he stated that the bird was all right, but prescribed a new medication (baytril). This med was to be given for 5 days. Curley never finished his drug cycle; I found him passed on in the bottom of his cage on the 4th night.
My girlfriend immediately called the breeder. I listened on an extension, and the breeder stated that it was not her fault and was not going to pay anything back or replace Curley. She said that she was prepared to go to court if necessary, and that is what eventually occurred.
I filed a civil suit in the amount of $1550 for accrued vet bills, necropsy from my usual vet and check-ups for the rest of the family. My vet said, after his preliminary necropsy, that Curley may have had psittacosis.
After waiting around for several months, the big day finally came. We were going to court! I was suing the breeder and the vet. We were there from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 in the afternoon, and we were one of the first cases called. We tried an arbitrator; I was willing to settle for $500, which the breeder had at one time offered, but reneged on, to no avail. So, we went to trial.
There we were, my girlfriend and I against the breeder, the vet and their insurance company appointed attorneys. Of course, the attorneys tried to make me look like the bad guy, but the judge put them in their places. The judge was not being fooled; he knew by the necropsy report that Curley was ill prior to my purchase. He was on my side the whole trial, until the end, when he apologized to me and said, unfortunately, there were no laws protecting the purchase of exotic birds, that he was governed by the law, and that I had, unfortunately, signed the waiver.
I guess the advice is; do not buy a bird without some written guarantee, and do not sign any waivers, no matter how nice the selling person may seem.
There is a happy side to the story...thanks to Diana LaFleur, we were able to adopt a 17 year old Green-cheek Amazon last week. He is a little shy, but he's coming around.
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