Taco
Hello, my name is Taco. If you stop by Paws Vet Clinic you’ll see me sitting on my perch by the cat entrance. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against dogs, Wendy and I have 3 of them at home. Cats are just less likely to want to use me as a chew toy.
Puh-leez resist the temptation to call me “Polly” and if you try to feed me a cracker, I will probably just bite your finger. I have to really get a “taste” for someone before I can warm up to them. Wendy claims I bit her 4090 times before we got to be pals. She might be exaggerating a bit, but I’m always a bit suspicious of new people so, if I’m being completely honest, she may not be too far off.
I’m a female Blue Front Amazon Parrot. It’s hard not to notice my beautiful blue face so, really, no creativity points for whoever came up with the name for my breed. It does suit me well enough, though. I was hand raised from a baby by an older gentleman. He had a heart condition so I got pretty good at mimicking coughing and one-sided phone conversations from the other room. I guess the heart condition got to him, because he died and I went to live with his son. That’s when I first met Wendy. She was next door neighbors to the son and came by when I needed my wings, beak and nails trimmed. After I bit her numerous times, we got on pretty well. The son and his wife had a newborn and a toddler, at the time so I am pretty good at mimicking a baby crying. You could say I am an expert at baby screaming. (It’s a an acquired talent, what can I say.) They say the most sincere form of flattery is imitation but the parents of the baby did not appreciate my new skills, at all. Go figure. So at 9 years old, I went to live with Wendy.
Other than the odd occasion when the dogs get worked up about some new visitor to the neighborhood, it’s much quieter at Wendy’s and I’ve been willing to put up with her for the past 17 years. The baby may have grown out his crying by now, but I am sticking with Wendy, for the duration. I know a girl shouldn’t disclose her age but at 28 I’m still pretty young, for a parrot. In general, I prefer almost any man, but I put up with Wendy because she takes very good care of me and I like to toy with her affections. I guess I just can’t help myself. I don’t bite her nearly as often, but I still indulge in the occasional nibble, just to make sure she knows who’s in charge.
She needs me to keep an eye on things at the clinic for her, so she brings me along to work everyday where I watch the comings and goings from my perch in the cat entrance. If you find yourself tempted to pet “the pretty bird”, DON’T. I will probably bite you and that pretty beak of mine will have you wishing you hadn’t tried to get so friendly.