A Colorado Springs nonprofit is operating as a haven for exotic birds and fish that owners can no longer keep, accepting surrendered animals and, where possible, placing them for adoption.
Fins and Feathers, described as a sanctuary and rescue for exotic birds, is also said to be the state's only fish sanctuary, according to manager Roxann Cooper. Every creature at the nonprofit, located in a storefront off North Academy Boulevard, has been surrendered.
Gabe Cooper, Roxann's husband, inadvertently founded the rescue in 2014 when he agreed to take in a friend's cockatiel. Shortly thereafter, someone else asked him to take in their bird, and his basement collection of discarded exotics began to grow. He wasn't adopting out at that point — just taking in. In 2022, he opened a storefront and relocated the rescue to its current home a couple of years ago.
The reasons animals arrive at the sanctuary vary. The majority of surrenders, often due to financial concerns, are smaller, more easily adoptable birds, like budgies and cockatiels, though the rescue also accepts larger birds depending on available space and the health of the animals, who must first be cleared by a vet. Fish are typically surrendered when people move, as transporting them is difficult.
A couple of dozen surrendered birds live at the location as sanctuary animals, including Jade, a Severe macaw in her mid-20s, who was let go when her owners started a family and she no longer fit in. Two more macaws also reside at the sanctuary: one surrendered by a family who felt they were in over their heads, and another whose owner's dementia worsened.
Other birds are available for adoption, including budgies, lineolated parakeets, cockatiels, lovebirds, and parrotlets, who share a large enclosure near the front of the shop. The rescue is selective about rehoming larger birds. "We don't want these bigger birds to be put in a situation where they're in yet another home, and they get given up on, and they're back here, or someone else's home," Cooper said.
Staff also address common misconceptions about the animals in their care. When asked why the birds aren't released into the wild, Cooper said they wouldn't survive. "There's a small window," she said, noting that the birds don't know how to forage or find water on their own.
"I've heard exotic birds are the third most popular pet to get, and the most rehomed," Cooper said. "It's sad but also makes sense because we're still learning about these guys. They're not domesticated like cats and dogs. They're the least domesticated."
In addition to housing and rehoming animals, the shop offers play dates with birds that can be booked online, a retail space stocked with bird supplies such as enclosures and tree stands, a grooming salon, and boarding services.
The organization has not announced any upcoming adoption events or changes to its intake capacity, and it remains to be seen how rising demand for exotic pet rehoming will affect the sanctuary's available space.