LETTER SUBMITTED TO LAFEBER AWARD COMMITTEE  BY DR. OROSZ

Dear Lafeber Award Committee,

I am deeply honored to be considered for the Dr TJ Lafeber Avian Practitioner Award as I have sometimes walked in the shadow of this great man—the Veterinarian that inspired me to become an avian veterinarian. It now seems just yesterday that this tall slender man with his trademark bow tie stood in front of a group of 4th year veterinary students and local practitioners in a lecture room at Ohio State. He kept talking with enthusiasm while providing us with a sense of “we could do this too” as he held a budgie in his hand. The thought of using our recently learned knowledge of pharmacology, internal medicine, surgery, and pathology and applying it to birds was exciting and yet so very daunting. But he did and so in our naivety, we thought that we could as well.

So, like the other “converts” I did and I continue to identify myself as an avian veterinarian. While I grew up with an interest in birds, raising canaries with my grandmother and helping her on her small farm filled with poultry and waterfowl, my interest only deepens as I walk through my career. My first clinical position was in San Diego where I began learning the medical aspects of birds while dissecting turkey vultures and observing condors with Dr. Ensley and the staff at the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. The surgical approaches of the long bones for the California condor were transformed into a surgical atlas for all birds after joining the faculty at The University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine. This Atlas won the Book Category at the International Competition for the Society for Technical Communications—a testament to the creativity of its design my father imbued as we worked on it together.

While at The University of Tennessee, I developed a number of research projects that drew other experts into solving clinical problems of birds. The studies on itraconazole and clavamox were done with Dr Lafeber’s input and enthusiasm. He was most interested in how to get birds to take medications using some type of “treat” food. Another interest of his was to develop “the best critical care diet ever so that veterinarians could save more birds’ lives.” And from that research came the Emeraid Critical Care diets.

From the scholarship of publications, I believe I have dedicated my life to enhance the lives of birds. My research and the translation of others’ research from diverse areas for use in birds, reflects, I hope, my desire to improve the health of birds. I have published over 35 referred journal articles, 150+ proceedings with over 80 since leaving the University of Tennessee and over 20 book chapters and 2 books in my career so far. Depending on your thoughts, you might think that our work on itraconazole in orange juice or Coke Classic may be a bit innovative. Then there is the surgical atlas that reinvents Gray’s anatomy, bird style. I have also explored the use of herbal medicines in avian practice as I believe that veterinary medicine should embrace and use all tools of healing for their medicine chest.

But Dr. Lafeber was not just a clinician in his veterinary practice, he was about teaching those who wanted to learn about birds. Doc’s “budgie in a bag” inspired so many of us. I have lectured to prevet students, veterinary students and my veterinary colleagues and hope that I have taught them and inspired them as well. I have had 4 residents in the program that I instituted at Tennessee and all of them have become boarded by ABVP. Since leaving the University, I have escalated the numbers of prevet students at my practice and host students from 3 local Universities to explore avian medicine. Then, there are the yearly Girl Scout campers and the talks that I give for them, bird club talks and the Monday Morning radio talk show in Toledo where I discuss how really special birds are.

When Doc retired, he became very prolific in placing birds in nursing homes in his area. I can attest to that as I tried to track them down after his passing. The stories of inspiration by the residents the birds gave to them were very inspiring to me as well. From that experience, I wrote a Companion Care Guide for Elder Care for use in Eden facilities and taught classes for the Care providers at their conference. I have also lectured on the Human Companion Bird Bond at 2 AVMA Conventions. Currently, I provide care for several of these facilities in the Toledo area, rehome birds for older clients or for those with medical conditions that can no longer provide for them and serve on the AAV Avian Welfare Committee. I also wrote the guidelines for the Fund for the Human Companion Bird Bond at The University of Tennessee to honor Dr. Lafeber’s life and initiate research in this area.

Dr. Lafeber was all about the greatness of budgies and how to get owners to provide veterinary care for them. To that end, I have been working with Clay High School FFA and Pet Supplies Plus with some of their budgies. Students tame them and then they go back for sale at over double the price. There is a now a waiting list for these birds, students are more involved in school and we see more budgies for veterinary care now than when I started my avian and exotics practice in Toledo.

An extension of the relationship of humans to birds is the relationship of birds to each other. As a neuroanatomist, I have been fascinated by the workings of the brain and more recently in avian behavior. Dr. Gay Bradshaw and I have just completed a paper that includes information from the symposium reclassifying the avian brain and on cognition. I have learned and lectured on the ever fascinating special senses of birds as well as their behavioral development with handrearing. We have a great responsibility as their keepers and we need to continue to unfold the workings of their magnificent bodies.

As a veterinarian inspired by the uniqueness and the magic of all birds, I hope to inspire that fascination in others—from vet students to my clients. I have had a wonderful opportunity to share with “Doc” and to honor him through the Fund and helping initiate the Dr TJ Lafeber Avian Practitioner Award. As a private practitioner, I am honored to be a Finalist for this Award. It is good that Doc was a tall man so that many of us can fit in his shadow. His twinkling eyes and his budgies in a bag have served as my inspiration. I thank you for this opportunity,
 
Most sincerely,

Susan E. Orosz