How Running a Simple Ad Can Get You What You Want

Where I live, pets are not typically allowed. Children are OK if you keep them on a leash. (just kidding) If you have a dog or cat, there is a pet deposit. Something about chewing and spraying offends landlords. Go figure. Most times, the deposit is non-refundable. I like my money and don't like paying any more to landlord than I have to. But I wanted a pet, and didn't want to pay the deposit. If I had a bird, there was no deposit. So I started looking in the pet stores for birds. I was very disappointed in what I found.

Either the store owner didn't have a good selection, or the prices were outrageous. The cages were even more expensive. Being on a limited budget, I couldn't see myself paying such an exorbitant amount for a bird with all the trimmings. They didn't even include the cranberry sauce.

Being the quiet person I am (HA!), I started whining to anyone who would listen. Family made the perfect sounding board. After a few choice boo hoo's and sniffles, I found the perfect accomplice. My dear, sweet step-daughter.

Talking with my step-daughter revealed her secret passion. You know what they say about birds of a feather. Well, she was in the same boat as me when it came to finances.

Brainstorming for a day and a half came up with many a plan that could have landed us in jail if we didn't get a sympathetic judge. So we decided to take the legal route. It worked! We both got what we wanted and it only took $50 to do it. We have a paper here that is like a thrifty newspaper. It has adds for everything from antiques to zoo passes. If you want to advertise your business or a garage sale, this is where you advertise.

I called the paper and found that for $50, we could run an ad for 2 weeks. That was perfect. If it didn't work, we were only out $25 a piece. I could live with that.

Sitting at the kitchen table, we came up with an ad we thought was clear and to the point. It only took two days of trial and error before we got it worded just the way we wanted. "We will adopt any unwanted birds. Call us for pick-up"

The day the paper came out, I was shaking so bad I ripped the pages as I scanned the pet ads. Yep, there it was. OK, now the waiting began. I am not a patient person. When something new is going on, I get like an addict, wanting it to come to fruition. I actually feel sorry for what I put my family through that first day.

No-one was allowed on the phone. We went no place. I wanted those hundreds of people looking for "loving homes" to know I was there for them. Boy, was I shocked. Not one call. Nope. Nada. Zilch. My daughter-in-law said to be patient. I didn't want to be patient. I WANTED BIRDS!

Then it happened. We got a call. Not just any call, but a real one for a real bird. The lady didn't have the ability to take care of her bird any more and wanted to know if we could take it off her hands. Are you kidding? We told her we would be there in 20 minutes.

Reality hit when we walked in and saw the "little bird" she was talking about. An African Grey Timnah. Beautiful bird. Well cared for and quite a talker. My daughter in law got that one. Maternal instinct took over and I said I would take the next one.

To make a long story short. We ran the ad for the two weeks. Between the two of us we now have 11 birds. 1 African Grey, 1 Nanday Conure, 2 parakeets, and 7 cockatiels. And all we spent was the $50 for the ad. Talk about a great investment!

Give it a try and see what you can come up with. Good Luck.

Did I mention we forgot to tell our spouses about this? Don't worry. After much coochie cooing, a batch of chocolate chip cookies and an all night fishing trip, which we will discuss later, they are just fine with our new feathered friends.