{"id":224888,"date":"2026-05-08T18:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/224888\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:53:08","slug":"meet-the-brooklyn-heights-parrot-who-sings-disco-in-the-shower-and-survived-a-serious-health-scare-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/224888\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Brooklyn Heights parrot who sings disco in the shower and survived a serious health scare \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

During National Pet Month<\/a>, one Brooklyn Heights parrot is being recognized for her resilience after overcoming a serious medical condition with the help of veterinarians at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in Lenox Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roxy Nissman, a 14-year-old female eclectus parrot known for singing along to disco music in the shower, will be honored at the organization\u2019s 18th Annual Living Legends Luncheon on May 13. The annual event celebrates remarkable patient stories, and Roxy is the only bird among this year\u2019s honorees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Amanda Nissman, Roxy is far more than a pet.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s like my baby,\u201d Nissman said. \u201cShe\u2019s really part of the family, and we would\u2019ve done anything for her.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Living with Roxy in Brooklyn Heights has brought constant entertainment to the Nissman household. Amanda described her as \u201creally, really fun\u201d and said the bird especially loves music and shower time.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe goes into the shower on a special bird perch with suction cups on it, and I\u2019ll play music,\u201d Nissman said. \u201cI really like \u201980s and disco music. So I\u2019ll sing and dance around, and she\u2019ll be in the shower. She\u2019s such good energy. She\u2019ll go, \u2018Woo,\u2019 when I dance around, and then she\u2019ll sing along to the songs as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the parrot\u2019s favorite songs are Kim Carnes\u2019 \u201cBette Davis Eyes\u201d and Prince\u2019s \u201cKiss.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s joyful routines were interrupted when Roxy suddenly became lethargic during a stay in Miami. Nissman noticed the parrot tucking her head behind her wing during the day \u2014 behavior that immediately alarmed her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"roxyOne of the parrot\u2019s favorite activities is singing with her mom in the shower.Photo courtesy of Schwarzman Animal Medical Center<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019d been a very vibrant, energetic bird up to that point,\u201d Nissman said. \u201cWe were really concerned because birds try and hide it when they\u2019re not well because of predators. By the time they get to the point of showing symptoms, it can be really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

After struggling to find emergency veterinary care over the weekend, the family finally got Roxy examined that Monday morning. Veterinarians discovered multiple masses on her body, sending them into what Nissman described as a frightening and emotional search for answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Nissmans soon connected with AMC and avian specialist Dr. Katherine Quesenberry<\/a>, whom Amanda described as \u201cone of the top avian experts in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that we wanted to make an appointment with her and do whatever it takes and follow her advice,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

After months of testing and diagnostics, Roxy underwent surgery to remove a large mass. The operation proved difficult, and veterinarians decided against removing a second mass after she lost a significant amount of blood during the procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made the decision, which was really smart, to just go with the one and then come back if they needed to,\u201d Nissman said. \u201cLuckily we haven\u2019t needed to on the other one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roxy spent more than a year on antibiotics, which helped shrink the remaining mass. Nissman said the parrot has gone roughly eight months without medication and continues to do well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Nissman said Roxy the parrot has gone eight months without medication and is doing \u201cextremely well.\u201d Photo courtesy of Schwarzman Animal Medical Center<\/p>\n

The experience reinforced the family\u2019s commitment to giving Roxy the fullest life possible. Nissman allows Roxy to fly freely around their apartment and carefully adapts their home to keep her safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s living in our world,\u201d Nissman said. \u201cThe least you can do is let them be as happy and mobile and all those things as possible.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

That philosophy includes avoiding Teflon cookware, monitoring electrical cords and constantly providing new toys for Roxy to destroy and enjoy.
\n\"\"Roxy is prepping to be honored at the AMC\u2019s Living Legends Luncheon on May 13.Photo courtesy of Schwarzman Animal Medical Center\n<\/p>\n

Now, as the parrot prepares for her Living Legends recognition, Amanda believes the bird understands the excitement surrounding the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tell her everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen she got good medical reports, we\u2019d tell her, \u2018Oh, your blood work came back really great.\u2019 She knows. She listens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nissman said she hopes Roxy\u2019s story reminds people of the emotional bonds animals create and the resilience they often show during medical challenges.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAnimals are incredible,\u201d she said. \u201cThey teach us so much about love and good energy and being kind and always being there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During National Pet Month, one Brooklyn Heights parrot is being recognized for her resilience after overcoming a serious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[88395,88396,88397,88398,88399,98,100,88400,99,88401,88402,88403,88404,88405,88406,88407,9,24,88408,63,88409,88410,88411,88412,88413,88414],"class_list":["post-224888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-amc-living-legends-luncheon","tag-animal-medical-center-nyc","tag-avian-veterinarian-nyc","tag-bette-davis-eyes-parrot","tag-bird-surgery-success","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-heights-parrot","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-chronic-egg-laying-condition","tag-companion-parrot","tag-eclectus-parrot","tag-exotic-bird-care","tag-exotic-pet-care","tag-inspiring-pet-stories","tag-national-pet-month","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-pets","tag-nyc","tag-parrot-health-story","tag-parrots-in-brooklyn","tag-pet-resilience-story","tag-prince-kiss-song-parrot","tag-roxy-parrot","tag-schwarzman-animal-medical-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}