Bubby came to my life when I just turned 18.  It was a special gift from my dad who knew I was an animal lover.  It’s been seven years now but I remember everything about that day quite clearly.  When I first laid eyes on Bubby, I was overjoyed.  I knew in my heart that I’d love this baby parrot and take care of him dearly.  He was so small that he could fit right into my palms.  His beady eyes kept following me curiously.  My fingers could feel the warmth of his body over the small underdeveloped feathers as I carried him gently.  ‘Bubby’ I whispered gently.  A weak response came from him.

I spent the following days looking after my pet companion affectionately.  He grew to be very energetic and cheerful.  Being very attentive and intelligent, it only took him a few months to learn some words and phrases such as ‘hello’, ‘come’, ‘give’, ‘okay’, ‘come here boy’, ‘how are you’, ‘what are you doing’, ‘hurry up’ and ‘naughty boy’. 

Bubby loves to have fruits and nuts.  But he has also taken some liking towards human foods such as cheese, burgers and pizza.  It is only a matter of minutes before he ravages the toppings and drops the crust with no care in the world.  He also loves taking tours on my shoulder and pecks at anything colorful that catches his eye. He has quite a personality too and gets excited upon seeing new visitors. 

When I clean his silver food plate, he loves to have a look at himself.  Once he was admiring his reflection on it when suddenly my mom added a handful of rice onto the plate.  Bubby cocked his head onto one side, looked at my mom with glaring eyes and tossed his plate upside down.  We were shocked to see him give an attitude like that.  That was one of the times I realized that even birds have moods and emotions just like humans do.  Bubby also has a softer side towards little children.  He loves to show off his little dance moves and vocal abilities to them.  Furthermore, he even lets them give a pat or two on his head which delights the kids. 

Bubby is a very friendly bird and recognizes the moods of different people in the household.  When there is a happy occasion at home, he becomes lively and puts on a non-stop talking show in order to draw attention.  If the household atmosphere seems dull, he would display silence or restlessness moving from one end to another in his cage. 

It is a general idea that cats and birds do not get along well.  But unsurprisingly Bubby’s friendly attitude paved the way for him to befriend our neighbor’s cats.  After a few regular visits from them, he even started meowing for some time and it was so much the same that sometimes we mistook it to be a cat’s cry. 

Whenever I sit at my desk and work on my writings, Bubby keeps me company.  Of course he enjoys nibbling at my pencils or even the edges of my books.  He grips the pen firmly by his beak while I gently tug it from the other end saying ‘give’.  I’m pretty sure he must have learnt the meaning of ‘give’ due to this practice as he uses this word cheekily to demand certain food items.  But all his cuteness outnumbers the mischievous antics of him. 

I’ve grown to become more patient and compassionate ever since Bubby entered my life.  He always is and always will be my best companion.