Arlington Pet of the Week: Elima

Arlington’s latest Pet of the Week is Elima, a 19-year-old Citron-Crested Cockatoo. She makes the perfect companion — and alarm clock.

Here’s what Elima’s human had to say about her:

This is Elima, my 19-year-old Citron-Crested Cockatoo. We moved to Arlington with my other parrot Topper (also a Citron-Crested Cockatoo) and my cat CD, who passed last April at the ripe old age of 17.

She has been my daily companion (and alarm clock) for the past 12 years. Parrots make great alarm clocks as there is no snooze feature, and they will not stop calling until you make an appearance, so there is no more sleeping in on weekends.

Elima, like most parrots, firmly asserts that she has to be the center of all activity, and any time not spent paying attention to her is time wasted. With her human working from home, she insists that she must participate in all Zoom meetings and offer up her opinion on all topics.

Elima can talk, but like most cockatoos, she doesn’t have a large vocabulary, though she can still get her point across. When she wants you to pick her up, she says, “Hop up?” and holds up a foot. She has about 100 ways to say “Hello” or “Hi” and even says “Bye Bye!” when her human is leaving (or she thinks he is). She can also say, “I am the whisper bird…” in a scratchy whispery voice her human calls her “evil whisper bird voice.”

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos — they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

We are also looking for local pets who look like their owners or like celebrities. Email us photos of your pet and their doppelgänger, explaining the resemblance and whether it has been noticed in your neighborhood.