My new contact information - and goodbye

My Avian Adventures blog is coming to an end...it was short, but fun! Midwest Homes for Pets has officially taken over anything and everything about Avian Adventures, including my e-mail address (carol@avianadventures.com). AA will be in good hands and I know lots of exciting things will be happening in 2008.

My e-mail address is carol@carolfrank.com. I will be moving my blog eventually to that location within the next month or so. My new blog will focus mostly on the pet industry with a concentration on the bird segment. The bird segment is floundering for a multiple of reasons - but I think the primary one is lack of good education and resources for bird owners. But that is another entire subject.

Adios.

The Murphy Group - an exciting new venture!

I just love the pet industry! So now that I am no longer president of Avian Adventures, I am excited to launch my newest venture The Murphy Group: customized pet industry consulting. Named after my beloved male Eclectus, The Murphy Group will offer a wide array of services geared toward the pet industry with a concentration on the bird segment. Click here to view a .pdf with more details.

My largest client is the company that purchased Avian Adventures, Midwest Homes for Pets. I will be helping them develop new products for them to market under the Avian Adventure label so look for some awesome new product introductions in 2008!

Murphy and I will also continue our roles as Avian Advocates promoting intelligent, educated, responsible bird ownership. More about that in my next blog.

Some comforting and wise words

Dr. Irene Pepperberg, Alex's mom, sent this to me after she heard about my loss...it was sent to her by a friend who had recently lost her companion parrot -

I understand. There were times that I just couldn't function. I felt that people cared, but they really didn't feel the depth of my pain. After awhile, I felt like people didn't want to hear about how I was hurting anymore. They had gone on with their lives and mine had stopped in time. I couldn't get past the hole in my heart. A part of me died with Ziggy. She was my heart.

I went thought the stages of shock, disbelief, sad, depressed, angry, mad, withdraw.al....
No one will ever replace Ziggy. I just finally realized that almost 7 months later, as of 10/8, my heart will honor Ziggy by helping two parrots that need a good home.

That one part of my heart will never heal. That part of my heart died with her, but she will help me to go on.

A part of your heart belongs to Alex and always will. That is a very special thing to have. Alex is with you everyday. You will feel his beak on your face., or a gentle breeze....that will be Alex flying near you to comfort you. Then one day, he will help you to find your way to go on.

Someone told me that the intense pain is not only the hurt you are feeling, it is the hurt that Alex is feeling of separating from you. Your bond was so close that he is longing for you also. When your pain begins to ease, it is actually Alex becoming content over the Rainbow. This will then bring you peace.
He will come and go, as he will be there to check on you during your times of struggle, for he will know when you are in need of his strength.

I hope this helps. You are not alone. I care and Alex is with you. He is now your guardian angel.

More Sad News....this time more personal

I am deeply saddened by the loss of my beloved black-headed caique, Chuck. I hope most of you who read this haven't experienced this kind of loss...because it REALLY hurts. I was out of town when it happened and Sunday night I got a call I have dreaded for the 17+ years since I took Chuck out of the nest when he was 3 weeks old. My neighbor came in to check on him and found him. The necropsy revealed absolutely nothing wrong with this healthy, happy, loving creature and we came to the conclusion that he probably choked. This bird had more personality than many people I know. He was so full of life! He just wasn’t afraid of anything. One minute he was like a bad little two year old boy, always getting into trouble, the next minute he would be cuddling up under my neck and letting me rub his body for hours. I could not believe how loving the little guy was. A complete and total love sponge.

His companion, my eclectus Murphy Green, seems to be holding up very well. I feel like he probably knows what happened since his cage is right next to Chuck's. The interesting thing is that he hasn't uttered Chuck's name once this whole week....and before this, he would constantly call out "Chuck!" and scold him when he did something wrong. I do wonder what is going on inside his gorgeous green head. All I know is that he is getting LOTS of loving and seems to be enjoying every minute of it.

Chuck led an absolutely fantastic life and was as loved as any companion parrot could be. I will miss him soooooo much but am comforted knowing that Chuck and Alex are up in Birdie heaven wreaking havoc and kicking butt. God Bless them both.

A Tribute to Alex the African Grey

In what has truly rocked and shocked the parrot world, we lost our most magnificent ambassador on September 7th. The silver lining in this cloud is the INCREDIBLE amount of media coverage this beloved creature's passing has received. Irene Pepperburg is a dear friend of mine, and while talking to her last week her comment was "It's almost like Diana died. I have been blown away by the show of support and love that has come as a result of this tragedy. Donations to the Alex Foundation are up 1000%."

Avian Adventures has been a long time supporter of The Alex Foundation. We have donated many cages over the years and have made financial contributions as well. I was privileged to meet Alex several times and even shot a short video with him that resides on our website. (http://www.avianadventures.com/Alex/Alex%20the%20Parrot.htm) I can tell you, he was quite a character! The minute I would pick him up, Alex would say “Wanna go back! Wanna go back!” He just cracked me up.

He was such an incredible bird that the New York Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, CBS News, Good Morning American, and many, many more prestigious publications covered his death. Take a look at a few of the links we have found: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/science/10cnd-parrot.html?em&ex=1189569600&en=708c72b735b87acd&ei=5087%0A

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2167779,00.html (I especially loved this one)

http://www.livescience.com/history/070914_hn_parrot.html

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/stories/MYSA091607.02H.maria.24750f9.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-alex12sep12,1,7051719.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=2&cset=true

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/opinion/12wed4.html?_r=1&em&ex=1189742400&en=5c33aee830732d44&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

GMA Video: http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=Alex&type=

Irene and Alex did more to promote interest in parrots than anyone I can think of. If you would like to read more about the contributions that Alex made to the studies of animal intelligence (or to give a donation in his name), visit: www.alexfoundation.org

In memory of Alex

AVIAN ADVENTURES ACQUIRED BY MIDWEST HOMES FOR PETS

We are very excited to announce that on Friday, August 31st, 2007 Avian Adventures was acquired by one of the pet industry’s oldest and most respected companies, Midwest Homes for Pets. Midwest and Avian are aligned in their goals to provide consumers with nothing but the highest quality cages and accessories for their beloved pets.

Avian Adventures will now be known as “Avian Adventures by Midwest.”

We are also pleased to tell you that our customer service guru, Sarah Klein (service@avianadventures.com), is taking a customer service job at Midwest’s corporate office in Muncie, Indiana so she can help answer any questions you may have about our wonderful cages.

In addition, I will be consulting with Midwest to help them develop new and exciting products for the pet bird market. I can't tell you how happy I am about that because over the years I have had to put several good ideas on the back burner because of limited time and resources. Partnering with a company the size of Midwest means more cool products for you and your beloved feathered darling.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about this exciting news.

No, this will not be my last Blog. Next up - let's discuss new product ideas!

Craziness at Avian Adventures

Between the Poquito Craze and another extremely exciting announcement we will be making this weekend, we have been running around like a bunch of banchees around the office. So I am late with my blog....and I feel bad since both Bird Talk and Pet Product News have announced the formation of my blog in this month's publication.

And to contribute to the craziness, this past weekend I rode in one of the largest bike rally's in the country - the Hotter N' Hell 100 in Wichita Falls, Tx. Why anyone would want to ride 100 miles in the middle of nowhere in 100 degree heat is beyond me...oh, I guess not because I did! Actually, I only rode 50 miles. But it really was a blast.

So we have some BIG news to announce next week. All of us at Avian Adventures are extremely excited about this...and you will be too as soon as you read all about it.

As a caique lover, I couldn't help but want to share the heartwarming story of Little Stevie with you. Stevie was born without eyes, but because of the incredible love and devotion of a group of parrot lovers, Stevie is blossoming into a gorgeous, amazing bird. You won't want to miss this story.

My next blog will be Tuesday, September 4th and will include the Big Announcement!

By the way, the girls in the photo are part of my Dallas Divas running team. Fortunately for Murphy and Chuck, they are also bird lovers!

The Poquito has exceeded our expectations!

Wow, we could not be happier with the response to this long-awaited product. One customer called us the day after he got his Poquito and said that he loved it so much, he was going to bring it on his cable access TV show the next day.

It's nice when a product actually functions EXACTLY the way we designed it to. As I have mentioned before, we spent three years researching this product before we decided on the final version. I have tested it twice over the last few weeks - weekend trips with both my eclectus Murphy Green and my caique Chuck. It was just the PERFECT thing for 3 nights at a friend's house. As you can see from the attached photo, his cat liked it too! ( don't worry, the kitty didn't abscond with Chuck...he is alive and well as you can see from the second photo).

So if you have been looking for something other than a dog crate, a cheap folding cage, or small plastic/acrylic carrier that will allow you to travel for a few days with your baby, this product is the answer to your prayers. Check out more info at: http://www.avianadventures.com/poquitoavianhotel.htm

Did you see the new October issue of Bird Talk? Our Customer Service Manager extraordinaire, Sarah Klein, is featured on page 12. If you ever have any questions about our products, she can be reached at service@avianadventures.com

I am on vacation this week and will see you back here on the 24th!

Parrots are good therapy!

Parrots have been somewhat off the media's radar screen for a while but this week I have run across two fantastic stories that shine a positive light on parrots and their value to humans.

The first is a story from the UK about a Doctor who uses a Green Winged Macaw in his therapy program. You can read more about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2339731.stm

The second is an NPR piece about a therapist who couples veterans with rescue parrots to create heartwarming results. Listen to this amazing story.

A few weeks ago I wrote of my concern about parrots decreasing in popularity. If the media would continue to pick up on interesting and educational stories such as these, I think that decline could be reversed. After all, parrots are THE MOST AMAZING creatures, aren't they?

The Poquitos are here! We still have a few left from our first 500 but they are going FAST. Next week my post will be dedicated to The Poquito Avian Hotel and you will see some fun photos of The Poquito in action. (can you tell I LOVE this new product?)

Great Midwest Relay

My staff has urged me to write about something "non-birdy" this week and they suggested I tell you guys about my crazy running hobby. Specifically that I ran in a relay race from Madison Wisconsin to Chicago Illinois on June 9th and 10th....and I loved every minute of it!

The Great Midwest Relay is a 190 mile road race that raises money for Special Olympics. We left Madison Friday at noon....and 12 of us ran 15 miles each (in 3 segments) non stop until we got to Chicago around 3:30 Saturday afternoon. The logistics were a bit of a nightmare, I got exactly one hour of sleep in a cramped van in the middle of Racine Wisconsin, and had to run in the middle of the night with nothing bit a tiny headlamp to show me the way - but I had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat. Why? Because of the team spirit and camaraderie that accompanies trying to accomplish such an amazing feat (plus it helped that the weather was virtually perfect).

Our Mixed Masters (men and women all over 40) team finished the race in 27 hours and 45 minutes and placed third in our category. Most of the team said they would do it again (me being one of them), but there were a few folks that said "no way!" What would you say?

Are Birds Becoming Less Popular as Pets?

American Pet Products Manufacturer's Association conducts a bi-annual "Pet Owners Survey." We just recently received our results for 2007-2008 and they were less than stellar. For the 3rd straight survey in a row, the % of households that have birds as pets has remained a stagnant 6%. Actually, there has been a slight 1% DECLINE in the number of households that own a bird from 6,416,714 in 2004 to 6,367,592 in 2007.

While that decline is very slight, what is important to know is that the percentage of households owning a pet increased 2.9% during the same period.

We would love to hear your thoughts as to why birds are not becoming MORE popular as pets. Avian Flu? Lack of good quality birds? Not enough media exposure? Computers? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

On another note - the Poquitos are arriving this week! We can hardly wait! More about those in the next few weeks.

More on the American Airlines Pet Bird policy

As mentioned last week, I wanted to make bird lovers aware of how "bird-unfriendly" American Airlines has become. Last February I attempted to travel with my Eclectus, and the result was a disaster - even though I am a Platinum Aadvantage Member. Following this incident, I wrote a press release in hopes of getting the media interested in this injustice:

*******MEDIA ADVISORY******

Contact: Carol Frank

carol@avianadventures.com;

AMERICAN AIRLINES REFUSES TO FLY PET PARROT, CITES “AVIAN BIRD INFLUENZA”.

Carol Frank, president of Avian Adventures, was refused service at American Airlines the morning of February 21, 2007 as she and her pet parrot, Murphy Green, tried to fly to Orlando to attend Global Pet Expo.

She was handed a policy dated March 9, 2006 which states “American and American Eagle will no longer accept birds as carry-on or checked pets. This change in policy is due to new regulations and concerns about diseases transmitted by birds, most recently avian bird influenza. Customers needing to transport a bird should be referred to Cargo.”

There has not been a single documented case in the U.S of someone catching avian influenza through a bird of any kind, much less a pet parrot that has never had contact with a wild bird.

Murphy Green, Carol’s beloved 13 year-old parrot , has appeared in numerous TV shows including the Oprah Winfrey Show, and last year’s Global Pet special on HGTV. He has traveled on over 60 flights and until today has never been refused boarding.

This policy was generated by ignorance and misinformation. The media frenzy surrounding “Bird Flu” has caused great harm to the pet bird trade because people were mistakenly led to believe that they can get this deadly virus through any type of birds, including pet birds that have never had contact with the outside world.

Carol and Murphy have been a team together at over 50 pet industry trade shows since 1994. In addition, Carol is a professional speaker and the author of “Do As I Say, Not as I Did: Gaining Wisdom in Business through the Mistakes of Highly Successful People.” Carol’s message includes the importance of being passionate about following your business dreams and Murphy is an integral part of her message.

However, if Carol wants to fly American Airlines to her trade shows or speaking engagements, Murphy is now grounded until this regulation is changed.

I would love to hear from anyone that has feedback or influence regarding this situation. I just called American again today to see if perhaps my complaint to Customer Relations in February had made any difference, but unfortunately they confirmed that the regulation is still in place.

American Airlines

I'm on vacation this week but unfortunately it has rained EVERY DAY. I've been in Dallas, Baton Rouge, and now Houston and it's NONSTOP!

This will be short but sweet and continued next week....Did you know American Airlines no longer allows pet birds in their cabin? They have a regulation dated March, 06 that I will post in next week's blog. All because of the Avian Flu. I used to travel with my Eclectus, Murphy Green, 6 or 7 times a year and now he is home bound because of this crazy regulation.

Next week I'll relay the story of how we got booted off our American flight to Global Pet Expo.

The Hottest Product we have EVER introduced!

In the 11 years since I started Avian Adventures, I've never had the pleasure of experiencing such an incredible response to a new product. Now it's not exactly as hot at the new Apple Iphone, but for bird lovers, it's darn close!

I am talking about the Poquito Avian Hotel, our new travel cage.

Have you ever wanted to take your bird with you for a long weekend? Maybe you wanted to bring your baby over to the pet sitters house instead of having them come to you? Or maybe you wanted to take him on a road trip? What have your options been? NOT MUCH. But all that is about to change with the introduction of the Poquito.

This product has been on the Avian Adventure drawing board for over 2 years. After countless meetings, interviews, and prototypes, we finally unveiled the travel cage at Global Pet Expo in February. As we suspected, the response has been nothing short of phenomenal. We have already sold out the first 500 arriving the last week of July!

With all the standard features of the Avian Adventure cages and an MSRP of only $139, we feel this is going to be a home run for both our customers and Avian Adventures! Please let us know what you think about the Poquito - find out more at http://www.avianadventures.com/poquitoavianhotel.htm

The inaugural blog post

Well, I've been putting this off long enough!

This blog will be updated once a week, usually on Fridays. The basic content will revolve around what's new at Avian Adventures, bird cages, and pet birds. Plus some general thoughts about life as a pet-industry entrepreneur will probably sneak in from time to time.

I welcome your comments! This will be an excellent way for Avian Adventures to connect with our customers and hear firsthand feedback not only on our product, but on bird products in general.

Next post will revolve around the buzz and excitement being created by our new Poquito Avian Hotel. in the 11 years I have owned this company, I've never seen anything like it!