Forget the Herbal, I Need Pharmaceuticals

October 5th, 2012

The morning brought new hope.  Drake seemed calm and happily went downstairs.  We had our breakfast and hung around downstairs.  I had decided I would get some laundry done.  I did not want to spend much time upstairs because of the bird.  While Drake was sleeping downstairs, I had returned the bird and the cage to the window where he belonged.  I had cleaned the cage and decided that I wanted him in my room.  I enjoyed his chatter and our morning rituals.  I was just going to have to desensitise Drake to the bird smell or redirect him as I had been doing with the tub.  The tub had been working, but I had to continuously watch that he did not get into the tub.  By redirecting him every time he went near it, he was staying out.

I was coming out of the laundry room when I saw him start up the stairs.  I stopped and watched him.  When he got to the middle landing, he started to spin and bark.  Very fast and manic.  I ran upstairs and grabbed him.  He was throwing his head and kicking for every thing he was worth.  It was about 12:45 pm as I sat down holding him.  For the next two hours he encored his behavior from the night before.  I could only hold him for the first hour and then into the crate.  It made me so sad to watch him in the crate, I wanted to cry.

Once he got to sleep I called the vet.  I was supposed to pick up his other anxiety pills and wanted to ask if I could give him three or what the limit would be for him.  She told me that the pills that he was currently taking were herbal and that they either worked or didn't.  That by giving him more it wouldn't really change his behavior.  I explained what was going on. She suggested that she give me some drug that would calm him and keep him calm.  I asked for enough to get me through the next two days until I returned him to prison.  I picked up the drugs and gave him a half of a pill immediately.  As when I had first upped his herbal meds, I immediately saw a calmer Drake.