Got a parrot with osteoporosis? A turtle with an infected ovary? Call Doc Tyson

Next to Goblin, a majestic-looking umbrella cockatoo named Chuckles perched inside a cage. When vet tech and owner Jordan Powell introduced him, Chuckles climbed onto the roof, turned his back, and delicately pooped on the floor.

Recently, Tyson performed a miniature ultrasound on a tiny hognose snake named Linguini, who belongs to the clinic’s head nurse, Alexis Ober. In addition to appointments with a rabbit recovering from a respiratory infection and an arthritic Senegalese parrot (”Say aaa,” Tyson told him), Tyson had a follow-up with Max, a 35-year-old blue-and-gold macaw.

Four weeks earlier, Max had undergone an extensive surgery to remove a large cyst in his body cavity, the bird equivalent of a human’s chest and abdomen, and a cancerous testicle. It was his second major surgery with Tyson.

“He wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for her,” said Jennifer Dixon, Max’s human mother, who drove from the Lehigh Valley for the appointment. Dixon described Max as “the most brilliant toddler you’ll ever meet running around with scissors on his face.”

Max also needed bloodwork, so Ober prepared a sedative and amnesiac for him. All that followed would be a hazy dream.

In the exam room, Max lifted a wing to show the site of his surgery; the feathers were still bare. Tyson examined his eyes, peered into his mouth and listened to his air sacs with her stethoscope. She offered him popcorn, which he rejected.

“A lot of the times with birds, we like to give them choices so that they feel more included in the exam,” Ober said.

Max was looking well; Dixon hugged Tyson happily.

Exotic birds or mammals are generally prohibited to own in Pennsylvania without special permits, according to Chad Eyler, game warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. (He says that the wild birds and mammals for sale at major retailers like Petsmart are generally legal). Pennsylvania currently has eight active exotic wildlife possession permits, covering pets such as wolves, foxes, and bobcats.

Regardless, like any good doctor, Tyson cares for the creatures who need her aid.

“If something comes in crashing through the door and it’s dying, I can’t step away and say, ‘Sorry,’” Tyson said. “We do have an oath to uphold.”