[Red Slinger]

Back in high school I worked at a pet store in South Center mall. We had a bunch of parrots there that were for sale but we all knew that because of the price tag and lifelong commitment they were unlikely to be sold and as a result the parrots became more of a marketing tool for the store and essentially the in-store pets for the staff.

I got very attached to a Blue & Gold Macaw named Dolly and she became very attached to me. For those that haven't been around the larger parrots much here's a brief synopsis: they are very smart, have a tonne of personality and are very mischievous. Owning a large parrot (Macaw, Cockatoo, African Grey, Amazon, etc.) is basically like looking after a 2 year old child for 60-90 years. They are a tonne of work and if left unsupervised will reak havoc in your home. They will chew your walls, destroy your furniture, crap everywhere and anywhere and (for the Macaws in particular) make a noise that could shatter your ear drum.

We would often let Dolly out of her cage (at the back of the store) to climb around the outside and stretch her legs. However, if I was at the cash register (at the front of the store) and Dolly was out she would start walking up the aisle to the front of the store to see me. If you've never seen a parrot walk on the floor before it's pretty comical. Especially, when you watch her coming for about 3 minutes. She never wanted to be alone. Dolly liked most men and didn't care much for women. Parrots tend to have a gender preference. But, and I say this with humility, she liked me best. It got to the point that I couldn't let her out because she would walk through the customers legs to get to where I was and it freaked some people out. One time she flew to the front of the store and landied in a big open hamster enclosure we had. Luckily she didn't do anything to the hamsters when she got there.

Dolly was extremely jealous as parrots sometimes get. At one point we got another Macaw (a Scarlett) and he shared the cage with Dolly. She was not happy about another bird stealing some of her attention. I would often walk around the store with Dolly on my shoulder. When we got the Scarlett Macaw Dolly was essentially sulking for the entire day. I was walking around with Dolly trying to make her feel better and she grabbed the corner of my mouth with her beak and yanked. It was basically her way of having a temper tantrum. She didn't hurt me but she could have easily ripped my face open. That was the only time she even came close to hurting me but I have seen parrot owners with huge scars from where their birds went after them.

I love parrots in general but I really loved Dolly. At one point I was trying to figure out a way to keep her but at the time I lived with my parents, then I was going to University, then I got married and then I had kids. I have no idea where she is today. I haven't thought about Dolly for quite a while. To be honest it's making me a touch misty.