In the last issue of The Sentinel, Dr. Patricia Anderson wrote of her life with Otis, her beloved Quaker. Otis was a rescue who, until joining Pat and her husband Manny in his forever home, lived on a diet of cheap bird seed, grit and the ignorance of his previous owner. Pat joined this organization a couple of years ago because she wanted to learn about Quakers and how to make Otis' life healthier and happier.

Pat and her husband, Dr. Emanuel Breitberg, spent the five years they shared with Otis devoted to giving him the best possible diet to combat what they thought was Fatty Liver Disease, common in Quakers and often brought on by poor diet. No one could have imagined that Otis would succumb to a condition, hemochromatosis (iron storage disease), which is very rare in parrots and poorly understood.

All who have been following Otis' story are touched by his death and share his loss. One thoughtful QPS member chose to show her sympathy by making a donation to QPS in Otis' memory. This lovely gesture pushed forward a germ of an idea to start a fund to support research into Quaker Parakeet nutrition, to find out what is the "right" way to feed these cherished companions.

And so, with the permission of Otis' family, QPS is honored to introduce the Otis"ONE" (Otis Nutrition Education) Fund. Its goal is to establish research, fund speakers at forums like the AFA (American Federation of Aviculture) and run articles in The Sentinel, and provide information on QPS sites to educate Quaker owners and potential Quaker owners on how to provide a healthy, balanced, nutritious diet that will promote a long, healthy life for our birds.