Louis was still craving her kiss when a spunky girl walked out of a side door and waved at me. “Good morning!”
“Hi,” I said, forcing a smile. “Is William Snow here?”
“Sure, but he’s actually with two dogs right now, doing behavioral lessons. Can I help you instead?”
“I’m his son.”
“Oh…. You’re Sebastian!” She pointed at the stairs that led up to where Pop most likely was. “Your dad and Maggie are the best. We have a lot of volunteers, but everyone here loves William the most.”
“I know it means a lot to him,” I agreed.
“I’m Charlotte.”
I shook her hand.
“Want to adopt a lizard?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
“Uh, not really in the market,” I said. “Actually, youdodeal with parrots, right?”
“Sure!” she said excitedly, and I felt bad because I think she thought I would take one home.
“Can I ask you a question about African greys?”
“Oh yeah. What do you want to know?”
“Why would one pull its feathers out?”
She frowned and tapped her chin. “Sounds like a behavioral problem. If they become agitated or are uncomfortable with their environment, they could harm themselves from the stress.”
“What if one lost their owner very suddenly? Would that freak a bird out?”
“Sure. All animals have a bond with their owners. It isn’t yours, is it?”
“Er… no, a friend of mine suddenly ended up with it when the owner… died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Charlotte answered.
I glanced to the stairs when I heard dogs barking and someone laugh. “One last question? This grey can speak. Is that common?”
“Yeah, they all can learn. African greys are extremely intelligent.”
“Could they learn a word after hearing it only once or twice, though?”
She shrugged, turning to watch the first dog on a leash coming down, tugging an employee along. “They could. If they like the sound or it’s easy to mimic. We actually have a grey here, and after hearing a customer cough, it started to imitate it the next day.”
Huh.
I thanked Charlotte just as a big pit bull hurried down the stairs. Maggie jumped on her hind legs, slobbering my face. “Maggie!”
“Down, girl! Oh, Sebastian!”
I pushed Maggie down and took off my sunglasses. “Hey, Pop.” I kept my eyes closed while wiping the lenses on my shirt under my jacket, then put them back on.
My dad reached out and gave me a quick hug. “How’re you?”
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” The question held significant weight.
