Bird lovers flock to adopt parrot who is ‘rated R, parental advisory required’

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Animal shelter employees were enjoying a rare quiet moment in the lobby when a yell came from a room designated for small animals: “Shut the f— up.”

Four employees looked at one another in confusion. Then the shriek came again.

The culprit? Hendrix, a blue-and-gold macaw who came to the shelter the prior month, surrendered by his longtime owner. The cursing only became louder after that late-May afternoon.

Chantelle Rogers, administrative assistant at the Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, Massachusetts, was tasked with writing a blurb to help Hendrix get adopted. She opted for honesty.

“If you adopt Hendrix, you’re basically adopting Samuel L. Jackson,” Rogers wrote on Facebook, referring to the actor who is known, in part, for his delivery of profanity-laced dialogue in movies. “This bird’s language is not for the faint of heart.”

Her post only made people more interested.

Thousands of people shared the post, which got traction for its candour and its humour. The next day, the shelter received a windfall of about 60 adoption applications, prompting employees to close applications that day. One person was soon selected, and Hendrix’s new owner took the parrot home June 21 after hearing the bird curse a few times.

“It’s so quiet without him,” Rogers told The Washington Post. “We do definitely miss him, but we know he’s where he’s supposed to be.”

Hendrix first arrived at the shelter in April. He was surrendered to Fall River Animal Control by his prior owner of two decades, said Cynthia Berard-Cadima, the department’s supervisor. Blue-and-gold macaws can live for more than 70 years, according to the Australia Zoo, and Rogers said Hendrix is about 30 years old.

Rogers said the first person who popped into her mind when she saw the colourful macaw was the late singer and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. But many of Hendrix’s feathers were missing on his roughly 3-foot-tall body and 40-inch-wide wingspan, Rogers said, probably due to malnutrition.

The shelter mainly houses cats and dogs, so Hendrix was the only parrot in a room with a few rabbits and a guinea pig. Hendrix was initially scared of people, shaking when an employee approached his cage.

The shelter bought Hendrix an extra-large Chewy pineapple toy that employees hung in the parrot’s cage and discovered the bird’s favourite treats: strawberries, blueberries, dried bananas and peanuts.

A few weeks after arriving, Hendrix began opening up, saying “cracker” when the parrot wanted a dried banana chip and “thank you” when he received one. Hendrix once told Rogers: “Good morning, baby.” Hendrix chirped when he wanted attention and tried to mimic barking noises he heard from the shelter’s dogs.

Near the end of May, employees heard Hendrix curse for the first time. After that, Hendrix used more vulgar language – and said it louder.

A new employee was cleaning Hendrix’s cage near the beginning of June when the parrot cursed at him. Employees told customers that if they hear profanities, it’s coming from a parrot who wants attention, not a person.

Hendrix might’ve learned the vulgar words by hearing them in his previous home, Rogers said, but his foul language probably meant he was becoming more comfortable at the shelter.

Hoping to discourage Hendrix’s language, employees turned around or left the room to laugh after Hendrix cursed.

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“How do you not laugh at that? Like, the bird just cussed you out,” Rogers, 32, said with a laugh. “So, like, you have to react at some point.”

While his language remained salty, Hendrix grew new feathers by eating soft-pellet bird food. By mid-June, Rogers said, Hendrix was ready to be adopted.

“One day he will call you baby and the next day he’s calling you a…hmm. MFer I guess is the politest way to type it out,” Rogers wrote on Facebook on June 11. “He says thank you when you give him snacks but will also tell you to shut up.”

“This bird is rated R, parental advisory required, a real sour patch kid if one side was sugar and the other side was arsenic,” Rogers added.

Rogers wrote near the end of the post that they sought an owner for Hendrix who has a cage and experience owning large birds. She added that the owner can’t live in an apartment or have children “because he is loud and explicit.”

When one commenter asked whether the shelter can be more specific about the profanity Hendrix uses, Rogers replied: “Facebook will ban me if I repeat them.”

When Rogers went to work the following day, the shelter had received about 30 adoption applications from across the United States and Canada, and more would come in throughout the day.

On June 12, nearly 28 hours after posting the advertisement, the shelter added to the top of its post “APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED!”

“And just like that, I learned way more about most people than I wanted to,” Rogers wrote on Facebook a few days later.

Shelter employees narrowed the applicants to the five most qualified and invited them to meet Hendrix. One woman who already had a room and toys in her house for birds she previously owned was the perfect fit, Rogers said.

When the owner took Hendrix home, Hendrix cursed a few times when employees moved his cage. After he left, the shelter became quieter; vulgar language no longer overlapped with dogs barking.

Rogers said the owner emailed her a few days later, saying that Hendrix is beginning to feel comfortable. He might be ready to let a new torrent of obscenities fly.