Heidi Fleiss birds of squalor, Animal Planet brings her life to TV July 31

By April MacIntyre Jul 21, 2011, 14:42 GMT

Cocaine (allegedly) and tons of dough thanks to a robust little black book of Johns, Heidi was living life in the fast lane before she was busted and exposed for her coochie entrepreneurship. Courtesy of Animal Planet

Heidi Fleiss, once a purveyor of female flesh, a negotiator of threesomes, fetish parties and cheerleaders for Charlie Sheen, aka the infamous former “Hollywood Madam,” established one of the most successful illegal sex businesses ever in the U.S.

Cocaine (allegedly) and tons of dough thanks to a robust little black book of Johns, Heidi was living life in the fast lane before she was busted and exposed for her coochie entrepreneurship. 

After a disastrous relationship with Tom Sizemore, and more than three years in jail and a stint in rehab to deal with her drug addiction, a dissipated Fleiss is trying everything to get her life back on track.

On Sunday, July 31, at 10 PM (ET/PT), Animal Planet’s Heidi Fleiss: Prostitutes to Parrots provides a never-before-seen look into Heidi’s day-to-day life, where drugs and escorts have been replaced by birds and business, and every day is a fight to stay clean and sober.  She lives in squalor out in the desert now.

From Animal Planet:

The one-hour special follows Fleiss as she struggles to care for the news loves in her life -- more than 20 exotic macaw parrots. With her home covered in bird poop and monthly bills for the birds soaring into the thousands, the former madam must balance her need to tend to the birds at home with the necessity of leaving them to earn a living outside of it. With multiple businesses and jobs to focus on, Fleiss spends her days shuttling from the laundromat she owns, to the doggie day care she is set to open. But, as the anxiety at being away from her birds increases, and the pressure to hire a staff to care for them rises, will the stress of life drive her back to drugs? Or, will her love for her birds and the help of noted brothel owner and good friend Dennis Hof, be enough to maintain her sobriety?

“I never, ever thought that I would end up here, but everything happens for a reason,” says Fleiss. “[Today] some people call me a crazy lady who plays with birds. It’s been a crazy way to reinvent myself, but I love these birds and I will be successful.”