HUBERTUS — “For fun, I call myself a bird nerd because I love all birds. I love everything birds, outside birds, inside birds.”
Meet Cindy Junkas. She's an avian aficionado, beloved by birds, and a coop-keeping caretaker. Her Hubertus home could probably use an air traffic controller with all the unpredictable flight patterns happening. She has nine birds: two parrots, two pigeons, and five doves.
However, these aren't just her pets. They are her life’s mission. Cindy has fostered about 20 different birds that needed rescuing.
“Now, the ones we have here, a few of them are foster failures. I just couldn't let them go," Junkans said.
She was drawn to birds at a young age and has always had them in her home. For Junkans, they were the perfect companion.
“He sits on me all night and just cuddles up on me when we’re watching TV," she said about one of her birds.
As Junkans got older, she began to volunteer at animal shelters, specifically working with birds.
“People don't realize how affectionate, how smart, how much these birds can bring to your life," Junkans said.
Cats and dogs get the majority of attention when it comes to adoption and foster efforts from shelters and other animal organizations. Junkans wanted to be the advocate for birds.
"They just don't get the exposure that cats and dogs do. I mean, you'll see commercials on tv with the ASPCA. All they show are cats and dogs," she said.
Watch Cindy's story to see more of her birds...
That includes pigeons. Some may look down on these birds, but not Junkans.
"The depiction of this lady in Home Alone 2, I think, is wonderful because she shows how incredibly smart these pigeons are and that they do need love.”
With all that being said, you might be tempted to call her a crazy bird lady. It would be of no use.
“Even if they said it to my face, I would take it as a compliment, actually.”
She is a caretaker giving homes to birds that need them. One of her birds is blind, and another can't fly. It's Junkan's mission to give them a quality and love-filled life.
In a perfect world, when she retires, Junkans would like to use that time and money to open a bird sanctuary.
“Some of these birds that just don't get adopted, I want to be able to bring them in and give them a good life for the rest of their life.”
For now, though, that sanctuary is her home.
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