Here are my beautiful pets:
First, my recent addition.
His name is Lucky, and he is a male raccoon. He was about 9 weeks old in the photo and is now a little over 3 months old. He got his name because on the way home from where I got him, my car broke down. I had to take him into the trees by the road to keep him cool. I got in a very bad mood and took 120mg hydrocodone and at least 20mg lorazepam when it happened. At some point, I drifted away from reality for an unknown amount of time. I snapped back into it enough to see he was gone. I thought he was gone forever. After maybe half an hour I returned to where I was sitting and heard his voice. He had climbed under the edge of a bush to sleep. I put him in his carrier and made sure it did not happen again. If he had been lost, he would have died and I may have killed myself over it.
The moderate depression I felt before getting him is now gone and I have mostly been happy since getting him. He is a lot bigger now than when I took this picture, he is growing fast.
He is also lucky because a wild raccoon lives an average of 1.8 years while one in captivity normally lives 10-15 years and sometimes into their early 20s
Next up is my Blue and Gold Macaw. His name is Baby. I did not choose the name, but I kept it as he already knew it. He was 13 years old when I got him and I have had him around 7 years, so he is about 20 years old, young for a macaw. Average lifespan is 60-70 years with some known to live into their 100s. He was in bad shape when I got him. His feathers were rotting off and his skin was an unhealthy purple color. All he'd eat was sunflower seeds and peanuts, which would eventually been fatal. It took some time, but I slowly got him onto a healthier diet. Lots of trial and error as he is an extremely picky eater. After several months, his skin was a healthy light pink. It took well over a year for his feathers to look normal. He now eats a mixture of parrot food, fruits, vegetables, pasta, nuts, rice, and beans. The kind of diet they need to be healthy. Having him really helped my loneliness and helped me deal with my serious mental issues. I believe it was a wonderful thing for us both when we came together. He had been passed from one place to the next with people who were slowly killing him by feeding him that diet and probably not satisfying his emotional needs until I got him and gave him a home he will keep until one of us dies. He helped me feel happier, needed, and less lonely.