April, 1992

He walked in, to the bar room, like he was walking onto a stage........

That was my first impression of Doug, commanding an audience, larger than life, confident. I liked that, so I decided to talk to him. I told him that I liked his t-shirt, it was tie-dyed and dolphin themed. I'm not sure it was love at first sight, but darn near it! I certainly was smitten and fascinated by him. I had never met any one like him before! This would be the beginning of an amazing journey.

Doug talked of training dolphins, whales, elephants and more. He had traveled all over the country and world and had done more in his, then, 38 years, than anyone else I had ever known. He was so intelligent and seemed to know a little about everything and a lot about many things. He was outspoken, to say the least! This was something I grew to admire and hate. I did, at least, respect his being true to himself.

When I talked with him, I felt so comfortable with him, like I had known him a lifetime. Soon we were living together. During this time, Doug had been working with an importer, taming the extra wild caught African Greys. There were more males than females and Doug hated seeing them sit in cages waiting for a mate, they may never get. He tamed hundreds of them and gave them a chance at having a good home.

Watching him tame the birds was amazing. It usually only took about an hour and the bird would be stepping up on an arm or perch and allowing petting. I didn't realize at the time what an important experience it was, and how much more I would be learning about birds as the years passed.

Soon after we moved in together, Doug woke up one morning in great pain. Before long he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He walked in pain for the next 12 years, never pitying himself, but always fearful of being incapacitated. Often the pain would be so bad it would bring tears to his eyes. The tears sometimes came out of frustration, of not being able to hold on to something, of dropping things. His body became frail over the years, but his cocky attitude and his love of me and the birds the other animals were the strength that drove him.

May, 1995-
We moved from New Smyrna Beach Florida to Utica, Michigan. We had jobs waiting for us at a theme park where Doug would be presenting the seal and sea lion shows and I would be presenting the bird shows. We also supervised the petting zoo. We were there for six years and the show always went on. Doug worked for five years without a single day off. His sea lions were big, bad and dangerous.

When I first met Doug he talked about having one more sea lion show. He got that wish. The two sea lions were eventually joined by four harbor seals and a grey seal. We also found ourselves bottle raising a baby camel and hand rearing an orphaned harbor seal, as well as raising many baby birds and taking care of a variety of other exotics.

When our contract ended, we went 'independent' and presented seminars, training demonstrations, bird shows and worked with a local bird store, Chirping Friends presenting educational classes each month.

Over the years, Doug burned a lot of bridges with his impatience of people. He also helped a lot of people and birds. His love for me was tender, honest. He never went a day without telling me he loved me and that he was proud of me. He enjoyed my passion for learning and teaching and saw in me, the enthusiasm he once had.

Doug was my best friend and I am blessed to have had true love in my life. I will always love and cherish the time we had together. A young friend of mine, Chayna, told me that Doug knew I was strong enough to make it, so he let go. There were days when I was not so sure of that.

I know Doug would be proud of the birds and I now. We are back in Florida, and I'm doing what I love. I believe he is looking out for us as we have had many blessing since he passed away. He lives on through us and the show goes on.......

Forever loved, never forgotten.