Baxter’s Bio

Baxter grew up in a loving home with a nice old lady. Around the time she passed, Baxter, 15, was transferred to another relative, where he spent a couple of years. He was then surrendered to CAARE (shelter), age 17, with extreme aggression and cage defensiveness.

I stumbled across Baxter’s profile on an adoption aggregation site while, oddly enough, looking for aggressive dogs. I had been working with a local dog shelter for multiple years, specializing in the larger and more aggressive breeds that other volunteers were less inclined to work with. At the time, I had envisioned starting an aggressive dog sanctuary, but Baxter’s profile intrigued me, especially with its notes on his aggression. I thought I would at least see what birds, and Baxter, were about and booked a visit.

After an initial meeting where Baxter tore into my hands, requiring three bandages, and hearing how volunteers were afraid of him because he had caused multiple injuries to them, I questioned if such an aggressive animal was even adoptable or was just bound for euthanasia (shared beliefs with those at the shelter). I realized, though, that this circumstance may be where I was needed.

Many people like dogs, and may be able to work with aggressive dogs, but a much smaller pool of people is willing to do the same for parrots. I was hit with a dilemma: If not me, then who?

I decided to meet with Baxter a second time and close off the fear, mentally booking him as a nice bird. Upon this meeting, he stepped up on my arm right away, and we enjoyed a peaceful time together. This was the first time Baxter had come out of his cage at the shelter without being aggressive.

What changed in him? Maybe he just needed someone to look through his angry shell and see him, for once, as just a frightened bird. Perhaps he himself didn’t understand his anger, and was happy when someone finally came back. Either way, I submitted my adoption application, and soon thereafter, Baxter came home.

So, what made Baxter so aggressive?

It is reasonably likely that Baxter developed some aggression from the passing of his first owner. Losing a loved one is difficult, even for a bird, but birds may not fully understand the circumstances surrounding death. Leading up to the passing, before the owner's death, Baxter may have been transferred elsewhere and believed that she had just abandoned him. It is unknown whether Baxter knew of her health decline or what he had witnessed. Either way, aggression can easily arise from this circumstance, from feelings of sadness and/or abandonment.

It is known that Baxter was transferred to a relative. However, relatives may not want or like birds to the extent that the previous owner did. People would probably prefer to inherit other things before an aggressive bird ("I thought I was going to inherit 100k and I ended up getting a bird that bites my finger. Thanks, grandma."). Furthermore, even if a relative expressed interest, their partner or family may not share those beliefs. Both of these may have amplified Baxter's aggression because he felt unwanted and unloved in the new home.

Another item, before I stitch together a past, is home conditions. Activities, diet, wellness, stress levels, and so many other factors play a significant role in an animal’s mental health. Nature and nurture apply to all animals, and this is particularly true for animals to which humans exert control over both the nature and the nurture. I do not think many animal owners realize the significant impact they have on the lives of animals.

There is a lot of information missing, but observed behaviors can help stitch together a history that I believe is likely.

Informed that Baxter was raised in a loving household, I do agree. However, I believe he was also raised in a completely uncontrolled and unrestrained household. He exhibited many behaviors that suggested that the original owner, potentially unknowingly, blended the lines between partner (friend/owner) and mating partner. Although parrots as a whole have a hard time with hormones in captivity, letting them get away with hormonal behaviors for extended periods of time, especially over a decade of the most formative years, can leave ingrained, harmful behaviors (attachment issues, obscure fetishes, improper emotional regulation - all behaviors successfully or in the process of being fixed in Baxter). This increased attachment to the prior owner would have significantly increased the abandonment Baxter would feel upon her death because he felt he was losing more than just a friend, but what he had developed to believe was a mate.

Upon her passing, Baxter went to a relative. This relative expressed interest at one time, but perhaps not interest to the point of inheriting, and their partner may not have agreed, to the extent of even disliking birds. Baxter, already aggressive, was then put in a home where one or both partners disliked him. He was aggressive with them, and this loop further exacerbated the situation between the two parties. Baxter, when adopted, had noise, attachment, and object/cage/hand aggression issues. I believe that in this second household, Baxter developed these problems. If met with abandonment and isolation, Baxter may have called out frequently and loudly to get any attention at all, and was met with shouting, further isolation, or cage banging (hand or item throwing). Day to day, Baxter may have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse. Increased noise levels in the house could have contributed to the noise levels in Baxter. Attachment issues derived from extreme connection with the prior owner and then the near complete isolation with the new. Objects and hands hitting Baxter's cage, or him, would cause aggression towards all, making him not want to leave his cage for fear that the bars were the only thing protecting him. Whether he was aggressive before or not is irrelevant, because in the end he was surrendered with hyperaggression. Something significant had occurred over a long time to make Baxter what he was.

Early on, Baxter had been very loud when I left to go to campus, but this was quickly fixed after a short time because of his consistency in seeing me return and giving him attention when he called out. Baxter quickly became quiet when placed in a calm household with peaceful music playing consistently. At the beginning, Baxter flinched and responded negatively to any object or hand coming near him, and defended his cage to the point of self-injury, but now he is very open to toys, even flying, and hands, while also exhibiting infrequent cage aggression (freely moves about cages and play stands with no sense of attachment or ownership). However, aggression itself is hard to break, and I think it will be years of work to unwind the trauma that has built up in my B Dawg.