Parrots Answer Phones To Ease Vet's Short Staffing, Delighting Internet

A video of a parrot answering a phone at a veterinary hospital has gone viral on social media.

Posted to TikTok, a vet tech named Liz, under the username @lizvetexoticstech, shares a comedic video of a parrot saying "hello" in a monotone voice when one of the employees answers the phone.

"Vet hospitals be so short staffed, we trained birds to answer the phones," she wrote in the video. Currently, the popular post has received over 188,000 likes and has been viewed over 1.9 million times.

"There's a solution to every problem," Liz captioned the video.

Many TikTok users voiced their opinions in the comment section, joking about how the parrot sounds.

"He sounds so over it," one joked.

"He's going to be looking for jobs on indeed on his 30 minute lunch break," wrote another.

"I bet he takes smoke breaks and don't give a f#@&," another user commented.

A user said, "You should train him to say hold please."

"This video brought me so much joy," one user exclaimed.

Parrot answering phone goes viral on TikTok
A video of a parrot answering a phone at a veterinary hospital goes viral on TikTok that has been viewed over 1 million times. cupephoto/iStock / Getty Images Plus

The Animal Humane Society TikTok account pitched in to see if the parrot is available, "We're actually hiring and feel like this could be a great fit. Can he call us or should we give you a 'wing' regarding this job opportunity?"

"Exactly my level of enthusiasm answering the phone," wrote another.

One account questioned why vet hospitals are short-staffed, "I called a couple yesterday to bring my dog in and 3 told me they were short staffed."

"Everyone is burned out and leaving the field unfortunately," Liz responded.

Many veterinary hospitals have seen staffing problems for years. Emergency clinics are having trouble finding staff as they continue to have a rise in new patients, which means some people will have to wait a while for appointments. Current staff feel overwhelmed and stressed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Parrots are a part of the bird family called Psittacidae. Within the family, there are over 330 different species. Birds are also a common pet in the United States. As of 2017, there have been over 20 million pet birds in the country.

Have you ever wondered how parrots mimic people's languages? Parrots are social creatures and have a "very keen sense of hearing," per pet site The Nest. They have thick tongues and have a syrinx. A syrinx breaks into two directions that allow air to pass through them between the voice box and the bronchial tubes. The parrot then moves their tongue to speak.

Newsweek reached out to @lizvetexoticstech for comment.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Ashley Gale is a Newsweek reporter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her focus is reporting on trends. She has covered trends, ... Read more

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