Kim: During these unprecedented times, the animal kingdom and I thought we would keep things light and focus on our columns, as we realize people are being inundated with information. So we hope you don’t mind as we try to bring some normalcy to everyone’s lives. Sit back, grab a tea, coffee, or whatever you choose, and I hope you enjoy my column. Namaste to all my friends. I know you’ll understand.

Sabre: This is the story about me, a very handsome (if I do say so myself!) orange-winged Amazon parrot. When Mom first spotted me, I was in a Toronto pet store. We fell in love immediately. She told me she would be back later that week to pick me up and take me home. I couldn’t wait for that day to come, because I had to get out of there, more so than the other parrots in the store.

When she asked the store owner why I didn’t have a leg band like the other parrots, he laughed and said, “Oh, I must have forgotten his.” Keep in mind that a leg band means a bird was bred in captivity. Having no leg band means a bird was caught in the wild. A wild-caught bird, needless to say, is much harder to tame and takes a lot more patience and time, as Mom was soon to find out. But I wasn’t going to blow the whistle and tell her that, no siree. I’d wait till we got home.