LOLA (Harlequin Macaw)

3408 Garfield Ave., Loveland, CO 80538

June 2024:
A written note from the Store Manager to the owner, Susanne Cochran, documents that Lola was experiencing runny poop, along with a variety of other parrots. There were also concerns about how overcrowded the shelter was in the middle building.

Throughout Summer 2024:
Lola is observed regurgitating or vomiting nearly all of the food consumed on a daily basis. Morning feeders and daily staff witnessed it and expressed concerns. Pictures were taken and shared with Susanne as well (see a couple of them below) This persisted for months, reportedly without intervention.

September 2024:
Since the store owner had not taken Lola to a vet and her suggestions of providing him with vinegar water and probiotics had not resulted in any improvement, the Store Manager decided to adjust his pellet ratios to see if it may help. The store was mixing 3-4 different pellet brands together with a bunch of seeds that Susanne purchased and the birds can pick out their favorites. Avian veterinarians and nutritionist know that food can affect parrots health outcomes and affect hormone production. Sometimes, regurgitation is a medical issue and sometimes it is due to increased hormones. Reducing pellets with ingredients that might increase hormones (and reducing seeds and nuts known to increase hormone production) might show if he is regurgitating due to hormones. Based on this knowledge and no improvement in Lola's excessive regurgitation, the store manager created a mix of the pellets he was eating in a better ratio, labeled with his name, and sent a text message to the staff that feeds the parrots, noting that the diet was being modified to help determine whether the regurgitation is due to hormonal causes or illness.

October 2024:
Susanne Cochran sends several messages back and forth with the store manager stating that:
- Lola needs to be seen by a veterinarian due to ongoing concerns.
- Lola should be isolated in case his symptoms are contagious to other birds in the facility.
- She is not taking Lola to the vet because she was sick.

November 8 2024: Store Manager was on vacation for her birthday. When she returned, Susanne had left her a long note about a variety of things that she couldn't take care of on her own. One of them concerned Lola's food. Here is the text from the note (also in screen shots below) outlining the ongoing issues and concerns with Lola and why staff made changes to his diet due to concerns for his wellbeing. The frustration with Susanne's inaction in regards to Lola's care is outlined in the store managers extensive response. There are pictures of the original note documented below as well.

SUSANNE (note 15): What are these food mixes for hormonal birds and for plucking birds? I have said not to feed. I need to know what is in there and WHY. Lola for example hasn’t eaten in 2 days. Please don’t change their food without talking with me first. I know of no food mix that would help with hormonal birds and I have no idea why there is a mix for the plucking birds. Please don’t change their diets without discussion with me.

STORE MANAGERS RESPONSE: "They are pellets we currently have and feed, just adjusted for the behaviors and issues our birds have. I’m sorry you have not kept yourself up to date on the current scientific information on pellets and how they seem affect birds and hormonal behavior. I have been paying to train weekly and learn from the leading experts in the field for over 6 months during my days off and you seem more bothered by that than excited to learn more to help our birds. I tried talking to you about it several times and you are just insistent that you don’t like Roudybush and you think High Potency is dangerous (yet we sell both of them). I can’t get past these with you, and I wanted to help our birds. Due to the information I have learned, Roudybush is the pellet we sell with the lowest metabolizable energy (high metabolizable energy is known to cause to increased hormone production) and benefits birds exhibiting these behaviors. So, I increased it in ratio to the other pellets we feed every bird for just Lola and Lilikoi. Nothing else changed.

You knew Lola and Lilikoi had been displaying excessive hormonal behavior for months and you didn’t do anything about it. Lola’s behavior was so concerning that he was regurgitating practically ALL of the food he ate. I don’t care what the reasons are for you not taking him to the vet, I cannot just sit here day after day and watch that happen and do nothing.

So, I tweaked the pellet ratios to see if it would help … And it worked!!!! Lola stopped regurgitating almost completely and Lilikoi stopped actively cavity seeking and kicking all of her her food out of her bowls constantly....

I’m sorry if doing this bothers you, but you are very difficult to communicate with and you weren’t doing anything to help them. And I’m sorry, Susanne, but I cannot be complicit in that and not feel terrible day in and day out. I felt like I had to do something and I wouldn’t negatively impact them in any way or cost you anything.

BTW, Lola and Lilikoi had been on that diet for WEEKS before my vacation. If Lola wasn’t eating for 2 days, it had NOTHING to do with the food mix." NOTE: After finding the text message regarding the diet change it was determined that Lola had been on the adjusted diet for months, not just weeks.

Loss of Documentation – Parrot Care Log
Important contextual details about Lola's health and behavior were originally documented in the Parrot Care Log, which was used to record concerning observations, identify the staff members who witnessed them, track who was informed, and note whether any action was taken. This log played a critical role in identifying behavioral and medical patterns and determining whether appropriate interventions occurred.

Unfortunately, months of records specific to Lola were lost when Susanne removed the Parrot Care Log from the store without notice. As a result, key information including dates, staff observations, communications, and follow-up actions regarding Lola’s ongoing symptoms (such as hormonal behaviors, regurgitation, and dietary adjustments) can no longer be independently verified.

The current summary is based on saved texts, staff recollections, and available written records, but it does not reflect the full scope of documented concerns that were originally recorded in the Parrot Care Log.

Scroll through the items below (on a computer) by double clicking on the pictures and using the arrows on either side of the pictures to scroll through. Only a picture preview is in the display array, and the arrow isn't easy to view in all browsers.