My Nonprofit Reviews

Mickaboo is an organization which has helped find so very many birds a loving and deserving home in the San Francisco area for many years. Unfortunately I am in the awkward situation of having had Mickaboo forcibly remove my three beloved family pets FROM their loving and deserving home. I live in California, and I am also going through a divorce from my wife of 7 years. During that time we had accumulated a wonderful flock of birds, consisting of zebra finches, cockatiels, canaries, budgies, a lineolated parakeet and a green cheeked conure. When my wife and I moved to California we contacted Mickaboo and volunteered as a foster. We successfully fostered a half dozen birds for the organization. As a verbal agreement of our divorce my wife and I agreed to re-home and split the birds - using her contacts with Mickaboo the canaries, budgies, finches and the linny were all handed to Mickaboo for rehoming. My wife was going to take the conure and I would keep our three cockatiels. The linnie and budgies were all handed to Mickaboo prior to Cody's moving out. On the day that my wife moved out of our home she surprised me by saying that Mickaboo was coming over to take the conure. This was a surprise because I had previously thought the bird was already rehomed. The Mickaboo volunteers arrived and took the conure and his cage, and also took the remaining zebra finches and their cage. Without my knowledge or being informed in any way, I saw the volunteers walk out of my house a third time, this time with the three cockatiels in a travel cage. I informed the volunteers that they didn't have the authorization to take the cockatiels, but they ignored me and said that the cockatiels weren't mine anymore. They quickly got into their car and left. That was on May 17th, and it was the last time I have seen my tiels. The cockatiel cage was left in my house, door open, food and water bowls filled by me that morning, toys hanging, yet completely empty. This quickness of the bird's retrieval and attempt to sneak by me leads me to believe that the volunteers knew I was not willing to give up the cockatiels, and makes it questionable that Mickaboo is acting in the birds' best interests. A lawyer immediately sent Mickaboo a letter demanding the birds back, which was ignored. I sent Mickaboo an e-mail with proof of my co-ownership of the birds (through veterinary records) and told them that my wife lied to them by saying she was the sole owner of the birds, and requested their return. That was also ignored. A second lawyer, my divorce lawyer, has sent Mickaboo a final letter about proof of my ownership of the birds and demanding their return or else they will be sued and brought in to my divorce as a third party, since they are holding Community Property that should belong to both my wife and I. That was three weeks ago, and there has still been no response. In fact, the only "official" claim from Mickaboo about the situation was in an internet forum discussing the situation, where someone claiming to speak for Michelle Yesney said that Mickaboo was keeping the birds because my wife feared for their safety and that I have no proof of co-ownership. A recent e-mail to Michelle told me that I should be talking to their lawyer instead. Mickaboo, as an organization, has provided so much help to so many people and birds. I used to foster for them - I know that they provide a much needed service. Yet as much as I am disappointed that my wife chose to drag this organization into my divorce, I am appalled at how Mickaboo has handled this situation. They have repeatedly ignored me and my lawyers, and forcibly removed my birds from my house with no authorization to do so. I haven't seen my birds in over a month. I don't know if they're alive, where they are, if they have been adopted out or really, anything about their status. All that I do know is that despite a desperate plea from a concerned and loving bird owner and proof of that ownership, Mickaboo has continued to keep three loving cockatiels from their proper, loving home. And that is the exact opposite of what their organization stands for.

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