Lisa B
I am a military wife and mother. I was in the beauty business for 20 years , as a Manicurist & Make Up Artist .
I have been blessed to live with almost every species of parrot over my past 33 years in bird keeping. Birds have always been, and always will be, my number one focus in life.
I founded a local Bird Club in NJ, which at one point had 75 active members. I served as elected President for 9 years, along with other duties within the club including Adoptions, Lost and Found, Events Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, and the Out Reach / Educational Programs for different communities and school systems.
I am a co-founder of Bird Clubs of NJ, which was formed to give bird owners a united voice in NJ. There were 5 sister clubs, with a membership hovering near 1000. Both clubs were active members of the AFA and Bird Clubs of America.
I am the Vice President and on the board of Directors for Parrots at Play Calendar program. The Parrots At Play Calendar Program is a charitable, volunteer, 501 (c) 3 corporation formed in May 2003 for purposes of fund raising to support non-profit avian organizations helping birds, and is utilized by many avian organizations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. There are many non-profit avian organizations that are working hard to help birds; whether through education, rescue and adoption services, or conservation. Our annual calendar is dedicated to these special pet birds, and to the compassionate humans that give the time, effort and resources to help "rescue" them and provide these wonderful creatures a better future.
I also volunteer for The Alex Foundation and I assist Dr. Pepperberg with her NJ appearances.
I am a past Volunteer for the "Look Good/Feel Better" Program with the American Cancer Society. The Program helps women battling Cancer learn to care for their changing bodies with the help of Cosmetologists and Make Up Artists to learn the tricks of our trade.
Most of my children have been special abled or re-homed. I am a firm believer in giving a bird a second chance at life if ever given that wonderful chance to make a difference.
My most satisfaction comes from fundraising and continuing education for bird owners. I want to be out there, HANDS ON, and make a difference. Education is the Key to ensure the future existence of the avian world, in the wild and in our homes.
Areas I can be most helpful are with African Greys, Amazons, Special abled birds, and to people who have recently lost their beloved babies to the
Rainbow Bridge.
Nazir’s
My name is DorLisa (you can call me Lisa). I am originally from Manhattan, NY. However, I currently reside in Horn Lake, MS which is 5 miles just south of Memphis, TN.
I am fairly new to the world of parrots and being owned by them. Contrary to that being stated, I've learned many things within my years of being owned by, studying, researching, working with, observing, exhibiting, caring for, discussing, and loving animals (as a whole).
I majored in animal science and will return back to school (soon--very soon), attending an AVMA accredited college to continue my education in animal science in hopes of becoming a licensed veterinarian. I am very familiar and educated in regards to animals; especially, dogs. Now that I am owned by parrots, I will extend my studies/interest into such.
I am a hardcore animal lover! I have been owned by and worked with almost every species that could be considered a pet. I have experiences as a vet assistant, Animal Adoption Counselor for the Memphis Humane Society, am an active member of two local all breed dog clubs and my national breed club (the MPCA), a member in good standing with the AKC, a dedicated dog fancier and reputable breeder of the Miniature Pinscher and soon to be Pomeranian, since 1998.
I administrate for one Eclectus forum and a Miniature Pinscher forum (both being created by me). I am a moderator on a total of four different internet forums/boards (two of which being the BirdBoard and DogBoard)—Thank you guys for having me.
In addition to that, I volunteer at the Memphis Zoo (Avian/Reptile Department) during the summer, have volunteered for the National Homeless Animals Day (2000). I am a member of the Internet Miniature Pinscher Services (IMPS) and also Vol Dog Rescue (VDR).
I am currently owned by a female CAG (Iris), a male Eclectus (Clover), 6 Miniature Pinschers (all champions), and one Pomeranian (will join the pack in March). They are my worlds! See, that's why I am running back to school to be a vet. Hopefully, the degree will give me more justifications because no one seems to understands why I love them so. Nobody but you guys...LOL
I am certainly enjoying the BirdBoard forum. I've learned so much here and I believe that I'm hooked. I currently work from home now as a pet-sitter and computer junkie. Yes, my name is Lisa and I am an addict.
I am truly just enjoying my time here.
So, if there is anything that I can assist anyone, please let me know. I will do my best to assist in any aspect or way that I can--it would be my pleasure.
parrotntn
Hi, my name is Mark and I live in Western Tennessee. I am a father of two WONDERFUL kids, 11 and 14, and married 24 years (25 this Sept. 2nd!!) to a wonderful and understanding woman. Our kids are special to us because we thought for years, we would never have children.
I am a registered nurse, currently working with cardiac patients teaching cardiac rehabilitation. My family is an avid camping family and we take several trips a year. Last year, we camped out west for 24 days and nites. We drove 6,487.3 miles, and camped 16 states.
I am pretty new to the avian scene. Although I did have a bird, a parakeet, when I was a lil boy in 1970. I had a cockatiel in high school and enjoyed training him to talk and do tricks.
Went to college, married, kids..jump forward a few years with me to about 2 years ago, I was in a petstore for something and saw, gulp, a moluccan cockatoo on a worker’s arm. I walked up, she let it get on my arm, it walked up my arm, stuck it’s head under my neck and started purring like a cat. I swear it did. There…it had me at hello, right there in the middle of the petstore. I recollected myself, took a cold shower and put the two thousand dollar bird back and ran, not walked, ran outta the store. But, it was too late, I had the bird-bug.
I started looking at birds then, larger birds. Reading every now and then. I volunteered to bird sit a 25 year old YNA, Cecil. Cecil moved in and then the reading really started and I found myself on this board a lot. During that time, Cecil became a diabetic and nearly died, but he made it and safely went home with his parents later. Out of my postings about Cecil’s adventure, GlendaNS contacted me about Cleo (aka Baby). I took Cleo and the rest is history. Cleo is now my companion. She welcomes me when I come home and although we don't share a lot of "hands on" time, we hang out a lot together and have fun. Now, full circle, February 15th I (hopefully) will be bringing home an 8 year old moluccan cockatoo named Gigi.
I have immersed myself in anything avian to read. Mattie Sue Athan, Pamela Clark, Joanie Doss, Sally Blanchard and many more. I read two bird magazines. I participate in four avian forums. I have been diligent in making contacts in the avian community. I have studied and found success with clicker training. I really enjoy reading and working with training behaviors. Cleo came to me without any trust and very little touching and certainly no stepups and a biter and hard nipper. But this was out of fear. I’ve worked extremely hard in 6 months to proudly say that now this bird will stepup (90% of the time), ride into the carrier and go to a friend’s house and stepup onto his arm. That’s trust! One of my goals is to have a pet therapy bird to work with disabled children and adults. That’s where Gigi, hopefully, comes in.
My plans are to work with the local avian vet on some bird cases and maybe volunteer at the Memphis Zoo in the future.
There is so much that I don’t know that I don’t know. Haha. But, I do know about biting and stepping up trials. I know that I love the rawness of a bird. I believe owning a bird is bringing a present from God into your home and for that, you owe that bird the best it can have. Being with a bird, to me, is like when we go to the ocean. It calibrates me and puts my life into perspective. You may have him in your home, but don't ever think that this bird is domesticated. He's your gift of raw nature, don't fight with it...embrace it.
I am excited to have this opportunity to share what little I’ve learned, facilitate and direct good training questions to the right place. Also, I'm excited to to read your success stories about training. Please start thinking of training success’ with your birds, I’m going to be asking for them soon!
Mark