Parrots are the third most commonly pet kept in America but most caregivers relinquish these animals due to the difficulty in keeping them for their long lives. Hundreds of thousands of parrots are given up every year in an endless revolving door of homes - or worse are set free with no skills to fend for themselves.
Serenity Park sanctuary provides a permanent home for parrots in large flighted aviaries where they are cared for by disabled veterans as part of a work therapy ... Read More
Parrots are the third most commonly pet kept in America but most caregivers relinquish these animals due to the difficulty in keeping them for their long lives. Hundreds of thousands of parrots are given up every year in an endless revolving door of homes - or worse are set free with no skills to fend for themselves.
Serenity Park sanctuary provides a permanent home for parrots in large flighted aviaries where they are cared for by disabled veterans as part of a work therapy program. The parrots act as "feathered therapists" and have been able to reach into the hearts of even the most stoic of veterans.
Dr. Lorin Lindner is the founder and president of Parrot C.A.R.E. and Serenity Park. She initiated the use of animals to treat trauma aflicting Veterans at the VA Healthcare Center in Los Angeles—the first program of its kind.
Dr. Lindner wrote a book about her unique Veterans healing program at the VA with parrots as the "therapist." Here are some of the reviews:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: A True Story of Hope and the Healing Power of Animals (St. Martin’s Press; May 15, 2018) is the story of Dr. Lorin Lindner’s founding of Serenity Park, a sanctuary where parrots in need of a home meet veterans in need of healing—and the surprising journey that happened next.
In BIRDS OF A FEATHER, Lindner shows how the veterans she treated as a psychologist and the parrots she had taken in as a rescuer quickly formed bonds. Men and women who had been silent in therapy would share their stories and their feelings more easily with animals. BIRDS OF A FEATHER is ultimately a love story between wounded warriors and wounded parrots who find a path of healing together at Serenity Park.
Kirkus Reviews says: “A powerful story of dedicated service to abandoned birds and veterans and how bringing them together helped save them all.”
“Dr. Lindner’s book reminds us of the extraordinary ways caring people are helping the men and women who have served our country...and animals along with them.” —Maxine Waters
Reading this book will open your heart and mind to the magic of connection.
Blythe Danner, Actor
This heartfelt book demonstrates that kindness to animals is also good for people, and that caring for others helps to heal ourselves. I greatly admire Dr. Lindner’s work, which helps both people and other animals by encouraging empathy and compassion.”
Gene Baur, cofounder and president of Farm Sanctuary; author of Farm Sanctuary and Living the Farm Sanctuary Life
“Heartbreaking and heartening, this is the true story of one woman’s quest to help individuals who have suffered great trauma and who have often lost all hope for acceptance and affection. The fact that they are human veterans of wars and abandoned parrots is surprising and deeply moving.”
Ingrid Newkirk - Founder/President, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
What Dr. Lorin Lindner has done for parrots and for vets is beyond heroic: she is like a messenger from a future, better world, where animals and humans live in peace and harmony. Her writing radiates with warmth and love for humans and animals alike. An extraordinary woman with an extraordinary partner and an extraordinary story to tell. She really has created a little paradise for vets and parrots alike!
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Ph.D. – New York Times Best Selling Author of “When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals” and “Dogs Never Lie About Love”
A sweet story with a profound message! It is a story with heart and sensibility.
Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D – President, New England Anti-Vivisection Society
Thru the tears of sadness, and hope I congratulate Lorin Lindner on her wonderful writing about the “Birds of a Feather.” Serenity Park is a place I would very much like to visit – like the ‘Shambala Preserve’ - “A Meeting Place of Peace and Harmony for All Beings, Animal and Human.
Tippi Hedren
President The Roar Foundation
The Shambala Preserve
Lorin has been a champion for all animals but she always held a special place in her heart for birds. It's a love beyond measure and on a very deep level, with a keen understanding of their complex emotions, superior intelligence and needs. And for birds who must live in captivity, she does her best to make their life as stimulating as possible. You may even be surprised to know that birds can love you right back. Reading this book will give you a much better understanding of these beautiful creatures.
Vernon Weir /American Sanctuary Association
A magical story about the relationship between vets with PTSD and traumatized parrots. Dr. Lindner reminds us to be open to the possibility that healing sometimes comes in unexpected forms.
Robby Kenner, director, filmmaker
Director of “Food, Inc” and “Merchants of Doubt” and soon to be released, “Birds of a Feather”
Dr. Lorin Lindner is a true pioneer. She was one of the first to take forsaken, neglected parrots and give them large aviaries where they can fly and live in flocks which they so very much need. And she was also the first to start a sanctuary at a Veterans Healthcare Center where the parrots and the veterans find solace in each other. This book is the inspiring and heart warming chronicle of those historic events that gives us hope for the future of this troubled world and maybe fewer birds will end up in cages.
Bob Barker, animal advocate
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