Meet Rhea: a little lovebird with the sweetest personality!
When Rhea was just a baby, she got a viral infection called Psittacine beak and feather disease, or PBFD. This disease attacks birds’ feather follicles, and it can cause malformation in birds’ beaks and claws.
Rhea nearly died from this infection, and she also lost all of her feathers. There’s no cure for this disease, but thankfully Rhea had a mild version of PBFD. She was able to move around with ease, but she sadly couldn’t fly.
Rhea recovered from the infection, but the vets told her owners that her feathers would never grow back. When Rhea’s owners heard this, they decided they didn’t want her anymore. They left her at the Back Bay Veterinary Clinic in Boston.
The clinic posted a photo of Rhea to their Facebook page, and a woman named Isabella Eisenmann saw it. Eisenmann immediately contacted the vet’s office and said she would adopt Rhea.
Eisenmann adopted Rhea, and she quickly fell in love with her.
Sweet Rhea quickly settled into Eisenmann’s house. She loved playing with her bird and dog siblings, and she also always enjoyed relaxing on her mom’s shoulder.
Eisenmann decided to start an Instagram page for Rhea, and it received thousands of followers. Everyone was intrigued by Rhea’s unique look.
“At the beginning I got a lot of negative comments regarding her physical appearance,” Eisenmann told The Daily Mail. “I didn’t really care, and wanted to make people understand that different is beautiful. I really wanted people to learn to accept her, and most importantly I wanted those who are different to accept themselves, just like Rhea accepts and loves herself.”
Since Rhea didn’t have feathers, she got cold easily. And so, Rhea’s many followers started sending her little hand-knitted sweaters.
Soon, Rhea had a very impressive collection of sweaters. Eisenmann took lots of photos of Rhea in her sweaters and shared them with her thousands of fans.
Eisenmann also received tons of letters from people who were inspired by Rhea. Everyone loved her beautiful story!
“I am just thankful to every person who has put their time and effort into making Rhea’s life better – the letters, messages, sweaters and toys I receive give me hope that there are great people everywhere,” Eisenmann said.
After two wonderful years living with Eisenmann, Rhea sadly passed away from her PBFD. Eisenmann was heartbroken about losing her little girl.
Still, even though Rhea has passed over the rainbow bridge, she hasn’t been forgotten. Eisenmann regularly posts old photos on Rhea’s Instagram and Facebook pages. She also announced that she’s producing an animated TV series starring Rhea!
Rhea is a sweet bird who found a wonderful place to call home. If you want to see more photos of Rhea, check out her Instagram and Facebook pages. If you want to learn more about this little lovebird, check out the video below.
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