Food Hounds

Jessie is our seven year old Rottweiler. She was a stray that one of my friends found in her yard. She called me to tell me that this killer dog had her cornered in her yard and could I come and help. It was a slow day at the clinic, so I and my tech decided to run over to my friend's house. When we got there, we found a frightened four month old Rottie pup in the back yard, that would fearfully snarl when we approached her. However, we had our wits about us when at the clinic, and had remebered to bring food..a little canned cat food is irresistible, especially to a hungry pup. I held Jessie on my lap while we took her back to the clinic. My husband, Ray, had always wanted a Rottie, so I took her home. Ray loved Jess, but she loved me: she is my shadow at home. I can leave a room where she is soundly sleeping and the next thing I know , she is underfoot.

A few years after Jess joined our happy family, Timmy came along. Timmy is a long-haired Chihuahua, who was an injured stray. He had a badly fractured pelvis and viciously bit anyone who tried to handle him. I plied him with doughnuts and, within 24 hours, Timmy was mine. He allowed me to pet him and even carry him. I kept him at the clinic and tried to find a home for Timmy. None of my clients who had had Chihuahuas in the past wanted him. It started when I took Timmy home for a few hours one weekend because I didn't want him to be alone. That developed into "Timmy can't stay at the clinic alone at night". The next thing I knew was that Timmy was living with us.

Timmy and Jessie are best of friends; Timmy is the boss, of course. Timmy is MY dog, no question. He does not like anyone to get within three feet of me (including Ray!). Timmy barks and runs at anyone approaching me and when they turn around to leave, he runs after them, jumps up, and bites their rear end. It's not funny-those little Chihuahua teeth can hurt!

Ray works second shift and I never worry with my two protectors in the house.

Sunday Bath

I just put the two big birds to bed and am sitting here, drying off. Miss Shelby, our Bare-eyed cockatoo decided she was ready for a bath right before bedtime and we both got soaked ;>)

I have learned to always give my birds a choice; this empowers them to control their environment (something we all strive to do) and is a fantastic trust-building tool for all concerned. When I open the bird's cage, I ask them to step up and if they don't want to do so (extraordinarily rare occurence for my guys), they don't have to. If the house was burning down and I HAD to get them out, I would get them out and it would not affect our relationship of trust since we have such a strong foundation.

Well, bathing has never been on my birds' list of favorite things to do, so I have had to get creative to make bathing a positive experience and something they would choose to do. I have noticed that for about the last year, Shelby likes to drink water out of my cup. Of course, I let her; this has led to her occasioanlly dunking her head in the cup and getting her crest wet. Shelby responds well to drama, so I praise her enthusiastucally to reinforce this behavior. Her head dunking has become more frequent and more pronounced, now accompanied by wing flapping and bowing to the water. Shelby has progressed to the point where she will dunk her head into any container of water I am carrying.

Tonight I wanted to see how far she would go, so I got a medium sized mixing bowl, filled it with lukewarm water and went to get my Shelby-girl. I was holding the bowl against my chest and Shelby was on my shoulder. She was a but hesitant at first, then, with some encouragement from me, she began dunking. This time, Shelbs went all out! She was flinging water all over herself and me and the kithcen, then running up to my shoulder and flapping her wings over my head. I am laughing like a fool and she is saying "Peek-a-boo" and "Hi baby" while dunking, flipping and flapping. You haven't lived until you've taken a bath with a Bare-eyed!

We both had a great time and it was good, clean fun ;>)

Birdie Springtime

It finally feels like spring today. Although still a bit chilly this morning, the sun is shining brightly, the grass is greening, the birds are singing and the crocus and daffodils are blooming. Warm weather is almost here. Typically, spring in Indiana goes like this: one week we are in the 30's with the occasional sleet or snow shower and the next week, we are in the 80's, trying to get the AC to work after a long winter;>)

The inside birds are becoming a bit flighty with all the nesting behavior going on outside. We don't breed our birds, nor do we intend to-there are more than enough unwanted, abused and neglected cockatoos in the world! When hormones rise as daylight hours increase, undesirable behaviors (screaming, biting and destructiveness) escalate. What I call undesirable behavior is often a very natural behavior for the birds. Screaming to call to a mate, chewing wood to make a nest cavity in a tree are understandably wonderful attributes in a wild parrot. Most parrots do not bite in the wild-they can fly away from something thye dislike or fear and they pay much closer attention to body language than we do. Parrots signal others with body posture, eye and feather shape and position, etc. We teach our parrots to bite when we do not observe their body language that says "I don't want to, go away, don't touch me ", etc.

This is where positive reinforcement comes into play. When we teach our parrots a desirable behavior (waving their foot, for example), we can achieve two major goals:

#1 We learn to observe our bird more closely while teaching, so we can reward the desired behavior. Behavior that is rewarded is repeated. We learn our bird's body language.

#2 We teach an acceptable behavior that we can ask of our parrots when they are exhibiting undesirable behavior. In other words, if Merlin, my cockatoo, is engaged in repetitive screaming, I will ask him to wave. This refocuses his attention to getting a treat and he stops screaming.

Too good to be true? Nope, positive reinforcment REALLY works. Check out my DVD at:


Companion Parrot Media

Birdie Day

This afternoon I saw three different parrots. The first one was a green-cheeked conure for a behavioral consultation. Then I saw a Congo African Grey parrot and a black lory for wellness exams. I have been working hard this past year to build up the bird side of my practice and I am finally beginning to see some results.



I enjoy working with these little "aliens" so much. The principles of medicine are the same for avian and mammalian patients, but those species differences sometimes throw me for a loop. The anatomy and physiology necessary for flight make for some amazing challenges. I don't know if it is the thrill of learning something new or the wonder of handling something as wild and free as a bird. I absolutely love to learn-the more I learn the more I find I don't know! And parrots have been only one generation in captivity; dogs and cats have been domesticated for centuries. I am learning more patience and calm to handle these "flighty" creatures ;>)



The attraction of flight and the freedom it signifies is something that attracts many of us to birds. The beautiful coloration and intelligence of parrots make them particularly intriguing companions. I love to work with birds and watch their interaction with me and with their people and I enjoy teaching my clients how to better care for their birds.



I associate birds with the spiritual. The only animal representation we have for God is that of the white dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent His Spirit to strengthen and uplift us during our time on earth. As I get older, I find I pray and rely upon the Holy Spirit to help me keep the faith and to grow in my love for God. Maybe the Spirit gave me this love for birds so that I will always have a visual confirmation of His everlasting Presence within me...

Nighty-Night

It has been a relaxing day off-only one meeting and a couple of calls from the clinic, a good visit with my BFF, Shirley and another with Mom and my brother, Dave. Then I got to spend the rest of the day communing with cockatoos at home.

The birds have been jazzed up this week; my husband, Ray, is on vacation and is staying home catching up with his "honey-do" list. Merlin and Shelby, the 'toos, are "Daddy" birds and want to be with Ray 24/7. They would love to be surgically implanted on his body: the very definition of a "cockatoma" I heard a speaker describe at a an avian medicine conference several years ago. So the birds are in cockatoo heaven with "Daddy" spending more time at home.

This afternoon, Ray left to run a couple of errands and so we had some "Mommy" time. There is nothing more calming than cuddling with a cockatoo! They can be sooooo sweet and whisper little endearments to you when you snuggle with them ;>) Merlin, the Moluccan, sits on my right arm and lays his head against my chest, whistling softly, and saying "Pretty bird, pretty bird" in a sweet little voice. Shelby, the Bare-eyed, sits on my right shoulder and rubs her cheek against mine, making little kissy noises. Aaaahhhhh, my blood pressure drops, I close my eyes, a smile on my face, now, I'm in heaven.......thank you, Lord, for cockatoos!

Cuteness Day

We had the cutest dogs come in all day at the clinic, but I think the prize goes to Archie, a young French bulldog, who is just the cutest dog ever. Don't you agree?




Archie is just as sweet as he is cute. French bulldogs are similar to Boston bulldogs, but larger and sturdier. Great personalities, friendly, eager to please and active dogs, they make wonderful companions. We don't see many of them, but I like every one I have met ;>)

I had some wonderful news today. Monday I saw one of my very favorite cockatoos, Wiley. Wiley is a ten year old Moluccan cockatoo (like Merlin) with a history of feather destructive behavior (FDB). He has been worse this past month and I have been treating him. Monday Wiley came to see me because he began mutilating. This is something that is truly horrifying. These magnificent, intelligent beings began ripping chunks of flesh from their bodies, many hemorrhaging fatally or succumbing to overwhelming bacterial infections. There are as many causes of FDB as there are cases of it, but I believe that a significant factor is that we take the chicks away from their parents too early. I think this causes some serious impairment to the bird's psychological and mental health.

Wiley was in the second category a couple of days ago. He was so ill that he couldn't even lift his head. His parents were worried and afraid. I was sick, I was afraid my little buddy was dying. We pulled out all the stops, put him on two different antibiotics, prozac, pain meds, topical antibiotics. Wiley came in for a recheck today and is doing better; more active at home, eating well, seems a bit more comfortable. I walked in the exam room, picked him up and cuddled him; he looked at me and, in a weak little voice, said "Hi Wiley". The first words he has said in a couple of days! I kissed him and my heart lifted. As I told Wiley's mom, he is not out of the woods yet, but we ARE making progress.

You have been in my prayers, little man, feel better, Wiley!

Long Day

Here I sit at 7:00 p.m. typing in medical records...ahhh, the glorious life of a veterinarian ;>) I know that everyone thinks I play with the cute puppies and kitties and birdies all day, and I do! But at least a third of my day is spent in paperwork.

Keeping a written record of my patients is vital to their well-being. We have become close to paperless here at CVC in the last two years and I love it. No more searching for lost files or trying to decipher illegible doctor's handwriting. It is all in the computer and is easy to find and read. And I find that we are keeping more thorough records, too. All lab reports are in the electronic record and at our fingertips when we need them. We have computers in our exam rooms and one in my office and lab area so we can access any patient record quickly. But all that data DOES need inputed and a great amount of it is typed in by yours truly. At least my typing skills have greatly improved ;>)

After the records are done, then I need to pay bills, do taxes, go through the mail before my desk is buried in it and assorted other odd jobs. Sometimes I try to multi-task, but that just gets confusing. My husband, Ray, works second shift so I am used to being on my own in the evenings. However, he is on vacation this week and is at home. He just called, so I am on my way out...tomorrow is another busy day at CVC and I've got chores at home waiting. I love being busy-it keeps me out of trouble ;>))