Up and Down

Today was one of those days. I started with a bang at work, seeing some rechecks on behavior consults. My patients are gradually improving and their caregivers are learning some new ways of dealing with their birds. Yeah! I am so happy to see birds responding well to some intervention strategies. As I have previously promoted, positive reinforcement is the ONLY way to work with animals, children and each other. It is so much more fun and the benefits are compounded with each positive interaction that occurs. I cannot think of one single time I would NOT want to use positive reinforcement! We can change circumstances, environment and interactions to set our birds up for success. We can substitute desired behaviors for undesirable ones. We develop our bond of trust and respect with each other. Positive reinforcement is always a win/win situation,

So my day was going great until my last appointment. Again, one of my favorite clients and patients was in to see me. I knew it was going to be bad when I walked into the exam room and my client was crying. Her dog was in bad shape. Max had a hard life; he had a myriad of health problems that his mom faithfully treated. However, his body was failing more and more. Max was extremely shy and still would not look at me, even after all the years I had taken care of him. In the past year, he had finally gotten so that he would let me lightly stroke his head as he passed by; his mom called that "doing a drive-by".

Max had lost weight and had a suspicious swelling in his abdomen-was it cancer? I don't know, but I do know that, even if it wasn't cancer, it was something bad. We discussed our options and finally came to the conclusion that it would be best for Max to euthanize him ;>(

It is always hard to do, but it IS the final way I can help my patients. After 33 years, it doesn't get any easier, though. I will miss seeing Max and trying to sneak a pet as he did his "drive-by".