Ziggy The Parrot

Never buy a pet that talks, unless you're prepared for what it says...

It has been said that the dog is man's best friend, but computer programmer Chris Taylor's best friend is Ziggy, the parrot. That's because Taylor found out his girlfriend was having an affair when Ziggy kept repeating her lover's name, British news media reported this week. The African grey parrot kept squawking "I love you, Gary" as Taylor sat with girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa of their shared apartment in Leeds, northern England.

When 30-year-old Taylor saw Collins's embarrassed reaction, he realized she had been having an affair - meeting her lover in the apartment while Ziggy looked on, according to a report by the British Press Association. Ziggy even mimicked Collins's voice each time she answered her telephone, calling out "Hiya, Gary," according to newspaper reports.

Collins, 25, a call center employee, admitted to Taylor the four-month affair with a colleague named Gary and left the apartment she had shared with Taylor for a year. Taylor said he had also been forced to part with Ziggy after the bird continued to call out Gary's name and refused to stop squawking the phrases in his ex-girlfriend's voice.

"I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go," he told reporters. "I love him to bits and I really miss having him around, but it was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again.

"I still can't believe he's gone. I know I'll get over Suzy, but I don't think I'll ever get over Ziggy." Taylor acquired Ziggy as a chick eight years ago and named him after the David Bowie character Ziggy Stardust. The bird has now found a new home through the offices of a local parrot dealer. Collins told the Guardian newspaper that Taylor "... spent more time talking to it (Ziggy) than he did to me."