Jake

Non-Fiction

My friend has just got a new African Grey, a parrot, a beautiful creature. At 14 months he's just a baby because these wonderful animals can live up to 50 years of age. This baby, my friend will have to include in her will, I hope I don't inherit Jack.

Her other African Grey was called Jake, a character, a real Dub she used to call him. He died just over a month ago and I've never seen anyone so heartbroken over a pet but then she had him for twenty years. He tolerated me and I tolerated him, he used to wait until she left the room in the hopes that I would go over and do my usual taunting and he could bite the hand off me.

I had a healthy respect for Jake, and healthy fear, never went too near. He fascinated me but from a distance. Poor Jake was on anti-depressants, used to sit and pluck his feathers, I suppose his housebound cage was his tethers. I don't know if he was intelligent or a very clever mimic but then I suppose that takes intelligence.

They used to have to leave the television on when they went to work, bad noise or company is better than none especially when mimicking is fun. Esther used to tell me about his talking but I never really believed until one day I heard this clicking sound like you make when your calling a dog and a high-pitched whistle and then the name Rufus, he was only calling the dog, you may have gathered that my friend is an animal lover.

Jake liked apples, bananas, and grapes and had a particular love for tea where he used to make a gurgling sound every time he heard the kettle on to remind you to fill his thimble, he was also partial when he spotted it, to a tipple of wine.

I have to admit I miss Jake a lot more than I thought I would, I don't know who got him to call me a bitch, but about two months before he died, every time I left the room he said: "bitch, gone". Esther deeply amused had to let me hear this one day, and then when I walked back in I swear that parrot cackled and said "she's back, she's back", to everyone's great joy. He did make me laugh and I used to take a bit of pride that someone took the time to teach him to call me that, though Esther swears it wasn't her, I have my doubts.

I was concerned when I heard Esther was getting a new chick because in the back of my mind I always thought Jake being kept indoors was unnatural, against nature, unfair. He was born to be free in my opinion. I had never voiced this opinion before because I met her with Jake and that's just how things were. She explained that Jakes's mother had been bought up in captivity so he wouldn't survive with other parrots, nurture had won over nature apparently.

The zoo over the years had paid for all of Jake's food and vet bills, the things you find out after he's gone, and this chick also would not survive with other birds so Esther would again be mum. Esther can talk the hind legs of a donkey so I wish Jack luck getting a word in edgeways. Maybe they'll teach Jack to say "here comes the queen" this time, think that suits me better. I know me and Jack are going to have a good relationship I can just tell by the way he keeps trying to remove my nose. We've years to get used to each other. Wish us luck.