George Dance was so loved by his African Grey, Fred, that the bird now needs regular dosages of Prozac to help him cope with depression after his owner died.

Birds are interesting and amazing creatures. For an animal that scientists say descended from reptiles, they sure have remarkable intelligence and an uncanny ability to bond with specific individuals.

My mother once owned a Queen of Bavaria Conure, a very rare and expensive bird. Often, if the social circumstances around the bird changed for any length of time, she would start plucking out all her feathers. My dad estimated that each feather the bird plucked was costing about $2.

Odd tics aside, that bird was an amazing pet. She was even friendlier than most dogs and would do anything to be with you. I can only imagine what she would have done if she had to suffer through the death of her best human friend.