For four wonderful years, I had the privilege of sharing my life with the most incredible little cockatiel, Dolly.People often say birds are different from dogs or cats, and they’re right. A bird’s love isn’t given freely—it has to be earned. They choose you, slowly, carefully, on their own terms. That made winning Dolly over and becoming her person my favorite challenge of all. Every step of the trust we built felt like a gift, and every day after that was proof that I’d been chosen by a tiny soul with a huge heart.Dolly was a total diva, and she knew it. She had the funniest bird zoomies, racing around with endless energy before settling down like nothing had happened. She loved to perch wherever she could, and especially attempting to “fly away” with my hat. She filled every room with her personality, her curiosity, and her stubborn little antics that could always make me laugh.