Supplied
- Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, Bridget Chant, 25, from Toowoomba, Qld, struggled with day to day tasks.
- Though everything changed when she met Hamlet, the Indian ringneck parrot.
- Together the pair are unstoppable!
Here Bridget tells her story in her own words.
Swiping my paintbrush across the canvas, my heart was beating out of my chest.
I turned to painting whenever I suffered an attack of anxiety, but it wasn’t working as well as it used to.
I need to find a better coping mechanism, I thought.
Fleeing the nest in 2018, I’d moved to Toowoomba, Qld, to study creative arts.
‘I think one would be perfect.’
It was my first time flying solo and I was feeling the pressure of being an adult.
Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, or ADD, at 10, I sometimes struggled with day to day tasks.
One thing that had helped me as a child was my pet cockatiel, Cinnamon.
She’d calm me down and caring for her gave me a focus.
Sadly, Cinnamon had died after 10 years together.
But now I was ready to love another bird.
‘I’m going to name you Hamlet.’
I liked Indian ringneck parrots so researched them and found out that they’re chatty.
I think one would be perfect for me, I soon decided.
So I contacted an ethical breeder.
I was looking for a yellow male, but when they sent me a photo of their new chicks, I was drawn to a beautiful blue boy.
‘That’s the one!’ I told my parents, Paul and Julie, over the phone.
So a few weeks later, I picked him up.
Studying Shakespeare, I’d read about a prince called Hamlet.
And walking into my apartment that afternoon, I knew I had the name for my parrot.
‘Hello, what doing?’
‘I’m going to name you Hamlet,’ I giggled.
He dipped his head in my partner Steve’s cereal bowl and sat on my head while I did my make-up.
‘What doing?’ I’d say when I walked in after a long day.
I was hoping he’d learn to talk.
Out of his cage, he’d sit on my shoulder while I confided in him.
Six months later, I spotted Hamlet sitting on the shower and whistled to him.
‘I’m so lucky to have you.’
Soon he was mimicking me. And, a little while after that, he even said his first words, ‘What doing?’
Then a few months later, I had another panic attack.
‘Hello, what doing?’ Hamlet asked, sitting on my leg.
It was so comforting, he was like a therapist.
‘I’m so lucky to have you,’ I replied once it was over.
During lockdowns, I wanted to share Hamlet, who could now say more phrases, with the world.
‘Kisses,’ Hamlet said, reaching up for a kiss as I filmed him.
Sharing videos online, I began receiving heartwarming messages.
My little boy is non-verbal and doesn’t like to be touched. After showing him Hamlet, tonight he asked me for ‘kisses’, a mum messaged.
I was so touched.
They say birds of a feather flock together, and Hamlet and I make a perfect pair!
