Impressions
by:
Sharon Wendt - Board Member, TASC
(The Avicultural Society of Chicagoland)
May 30, 2005
Hello Ken,
I mentioned that I would be sending you an e-mail describing what I
thought about your bird taming workshops at
our TASC Midwest Bird Expo on May 21 & 22, 2005. You are free to
post it on your web site.
I'm not sure there are words to describe it - Amazing? Unbelievable?
Heartwarming? Magnificent? Impressive beyond words? Nothing really expresses
the feeling I got watching you work with birds that for one reason or
another were fearful of getting close to their human caretakers.
The love you showed for both the troubled birds and the anxious caretakers
overwhelmed me. These were people and birds you had never met before
that day yet you showed such compassion for their plight and worked to
relieve the anxiety of both bird and person.
More than a week has passed and I have to admit that I still have an
unusual, but extremely good feeling. I don't know how many people have
had an experience in their life that has touched them in such a profound
way that it will never be forgotten but I know I had that experience
last weekend. Yes, I was one of those crying - such tears of joy. You
experienced some nasty bites but you continued to work like nothing had
happened with only the goal of maintaining complete safety for the bird
and relieving the bird's fear and anxiety. You obviously knew what you
were doing as the end result was so heartwarming -seeing the birds being
held and responding to their owners with such love and joy - I'm still
talking about it to anyone that will listen. (At a small bird event today,
7 people said they want to know when you will be back in the area as
they want to attend your workshop)
As the person
who did all the organizing and worked with you for the TASC Expo, I
became very
aware of the controversy surrounding you. I
received very descriptive e-mails including threats of disruption by
protestors, e-mails calling you everything under the sun, comments that
you use welder's gloves and personal attacks on your
character. Someone even used a fake name condemning you and praising
another behaviorist (I traced it, and it turns out the email was sent
by the behaviorist's husband – talk about dirty
tricks!).
Since
I had never met you or observed a program or workshop, I decided I
would wait to see for myself - always knowing that if I saw ANYTHING
that didn't sit well with me, I could stop the program or workshop and
refund any fees paid by the participants. To those who know me, there
is no question that I would never allow any bird (or person) to be harmed
in any way. Instead, I watched you in amazement.
I
understand the seriousness of losing control of a companion bird and
the end result of it being
bounced from home to home. Many of my birds
are rescues due to behavior problems. They are now my very much loved
companions. I understand the trauma they feel being shuffled around like
used furniture. To those of you who read this, the lies being told about
Ken are unbelievable to the point of being ridiculous. Welder's
gloves? The gloves he "initially" uses (he only wears them
with the worst biting birds, then takes them off after a few minutes)
are a pair of soft, thin, unlined deerskin gloves - not much thicker
than dress gloves! (they stop some of the puncture and laceration - definitely
not the pressure!) Most of the attacks also stated he requires a vet
at each workshop - I guess he "forgot" to tell me that? We
did require that all birds be in good health and we had at least one
bird who was in our workshop at an avian vet's suggestion - amazing how
facts can get turned around, isn't it? Breaking the birds' spirit?
The only thing broken is the circle of fear the bird has been trapped
in. If you watched the birds closely you could see their eyes change
and it was almost like the bird looked around and said "Wow, this
is ok! That scratch on the back of my head sure felt good!" "Think
I can sucker that guy to give me another one?" Ok,
so I'm putting words in the birds' beaks but that
is exactly how I read the eyes and expressions of the birds at the workshop.
Instead of breaking their spirits, you're releasing
them from their prisons of fear.
I
would urge everyone, please, if you have a troubled bird – an
aggressive biter, one that likes only one person, or one that's
terrified - sign up for a Ken Globus workshop when he is in your area.
If he isn't scheduled, get a group together and sponsor him - you won't
be disappointed! In fact, you'll be amazed. Put aside
everything you have heard, negative comments and even my positive comments,
just go with a totally open mind and see for yourself. You will probably
be the next person writing a letter to Ken telling what a wonderful experience
you had. If you are reading this, you must either have a bird or be a
bird lover. Even if you have the sweetest bird in the world, you never
know when you could run into problems or have the opportunity to help
someone else with a troubled companion. And with his techniques you can
do just that.
We're so pleased with the results that we'll
be bringing Ken back to the Chicagoland area. If you would like to be
contacted, or if you have any questions, I am giving Ken permission to
post my email address on his site. Please put Ken Globus in the subject
line so I don't delete it by accident.
Sharon Wendt, Board Member - TASC (The Avicultural Society of Chicagoland)
and a Ken Globus Supporter for life after watching a first hand experience!
September 20, 2006
Dear South Bay Bird Society
We want to thank you for the Bird Taming Demonstration you put on with
Ken Globus, The Bird Whisperer, at the September 11 meeting. Thank you
for having my family, myself, and our pet Macaw. We really enjoyed
the event. It really has helped us break the ice with our bird.
We have to say we were very disappointed with the people in the audience
who gave Ken and our Macaw such a hard time. The heckling was
very disruptive and upsetting especially to my youngest child.
Their rude and obnoxious remarks were not justified or of any
help. We were appalled that two of these Hecklers approached
us at the end of the demonstration to solicit us for bird training.
We were all very interested with how Ken handled our Macaw.
His techniques and Patience were incredible. I have never seen anyone
get bitten so hard and so many times and still be so calm and gentle.
We have been bitten many times by her without having any positive results,
we were becoming quite frustrated. Watching Ken interact with her and
having positive results even though they were small gave us hope. The
evening after the taming demonstration she came out of her cage on her
own for the first time. The following day we were able to get her on
a stand and my wife and myself were able to pet her on the head, beak
and feet. This was great and some major progress! We know it will take
time and a lot more work. Thanks to your bird taming demonstration with
Ken it has helped us to start down the road of progress towards a loving
relationship with our Macaw. We also want to thank you for the great
bird toy we received.
Best regards, Dean McCarthy and Family
September 20, 2006
Just wanted to sincerely thank SBBS, and especially Ken Globus, for
the change that's occurred in Calypso, my Amazon! Callie spent the last
6+ years in her cage because of a very nasty bite she gave me. (She came
to my home for a month while her owner moved to a new location, then
was abandoned when her owner never returned to claim her). I truly believed
she was vicious. I watched Ken work bravely and valiantly with the very
strong-willed macaw that preceded Callie. I applaud him for his efforts
with an extremely difficult bird. Sitting in the front row, I witnessed
bite after bite that she inflicted on him. She drew blood on a lot of
those bites. After that macaw, I guess Callie must have seemed like a
walk in the park to him. I was truly amazed at how easily Ken got her
to step up and stand, first on the T-stand and then on my lap. Perhaps
the one that needed Ken's guidance more was me, and not Callie. Thank
you, Ken, for getting me past my fear of her, so that she can be a special
pet -- not just another bird in a cage for the rest of her life!
SBBS member, Valerie Fee, fell in love with Callie at the meeting, and
asked if she could adopt her. Callie will get a lot more time and attention
from Valerie than I could ever give her, so she has become a member of
Valerie's precious flock. This could never have happened if Ken hadn't
shown both of us what a great pet she could be. Thanks again, Ken! I
truly applaud your efforts in working with these seemingly impossible
to handle parrots!
Sylvia Skidmore
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