Some people are Earth angels, attracting needy animals and taking them into their homes and their hearts. Such was this reviewer's maternal grandmother, whose Nelson County farm was home to multiple dogs and cats, and such is Nancy Ellis-Bell.

A publishing agent who lives in a renovated trailer with her contractor husband in rural northern California, Ellis-Bell already had two dogs (Ben and Blanco), two indoor cats (Mr. Mistoffelees and Tiger), more than a dozen outdoor cats and an outdoor raccoon (Rachel) and her many broods.

But in a big heart, there's always room for one more. Ellis-Bell had that heart set on an African grey parrot. But she changed her mind at a friend's bird-rescue sanctuary when she saw Peg Leg, a 2-foot-tall macaw who was missing her left foot (probably cut off by her captors when it became hopelessly tangled in a parrot snare in Latin America when she was 2 years old). In addition to her disability, Peg Leg was sick with an infection and carried a reputation for viciousness.

Mean, ill and missing a paw? Pshaw. Ellis-Bell forsook her African grey dream for what could have become a macaw nightmare.

That it didn't, and that the love the two shared became the basis for "The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog," is a testament to devotion.

After bringing Peg Leg home and renaming her Sarah, Ellis-Bell kept her in the bird's large cage for two weeks before freeing her to explore the tiny house. And explore she did, tossing laundry items around, destroying a favorite dog toy, opening the kitchen cabinets and rolling the canned items about, among other behavior benign -- helping to dig planting holes for bulbs, having a rare sip of a gin and tonic -- and mischievous -- sporadically strafing the dogs. Ellis-Bell and her husband got used to the occasional parrot screams, but one neighbor, thinking Ellis-Bell a victim of domestic violence, summoned the police.

Whether to make Sarah a free-flight bird was a question over which Ellis-Bell agonized. Her wings were intact, but would she fly off and break her person's heart? Was keeping her safe better than enabling her to be free? Ellis-Bell took the plunge, and Sarah mostly stayed nearby, only occasionally venturing into nearby trees. Eventually, of course . . .

Her canine adventures were on a different level. She would nosh on the dogs' kibble, unearth Blanco's bones, play tug with Ben and -- most amusingly -- imitate their woofs and yips so closely that people couldn't tell the difference.

As she settled in, Sarah of the broken spirit became Sarah the queen of the realm. She grew to trust Ellis-Bell implicitly and reserved for her the phrase "Love you." Still, a big bird in a tiny trailer can cause periodic havoc, and Ellis-Bell handled it with tolerance, ingenuity and, above all, life-changing love.

Equally comical, affecting and wrenching, "The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog" is a little charmer that reminds us of the love we owe our fellow travelers on Earth and the difference that love can make -- in their lives and ours.
Contact Jay Strafford at (804) 649-6698 or jstrafford@timesdispatch.com.