It has been a rough year, with the death of our beloved female cockatiel, Mae in August, a friend this spring, and my mom this fall. Cookie is ok with the idea of being the only bird as long as we don't leave him alone. So when we go out he tears at our hearts with his yelling, and we tell him we'll be back later, and wishing he would understand. We're reluctant to get another bird because we're both getting on in years, but we might do that after the first of the year. We will adopt a senior bird most likely, as we have been doing for years.