Regular customers at C&P Printing in Columbus will tell you that things are not always as they seem to be.

That ringing phone? The sound of a siren as it shoots down Gardner Boulevard? The beep-beep-beep a big truck makes when it is backing up.

It could be a phone, a siren or a truck.

Then, again, it could be Pepper, the African Gray Parrot that Dewey and Patty Petigo purchased at a Jackson bird show 22 years ago.

Since taking up residence at the Petigo’s commercial print shop about three years ago, Pepper has become the prime attraction.

“When they come in, customers usually go over and talk to Pepper before they come to the counter and do business,” Dewey said. “She won’t talk on command, though, because she knows she already has your attention. It’s when you leave her cage and start doing business that she begins talking.”

African Grays are native to the rainforests of central Africa. While their color may be less stunning that other breeds of parrots, they are among the smartest birds in the world, with vocabularies up to 1,000 words, according to the Natural Geographic Society. As Pepper clearly demonstrates, they can mimic non-speech sounds as well.

It is the intelligence, gift of mimicry and social nature that make African Grays a favorite for pet owners.

Dewey wasn’t really among that group, at least not at the start.

“I’m not really a pet person,” he said. “My wife, though, she’s had all kinds of birds over the years, but she had never had an African Gray even though she always wanted one. One day, she heard that there was going to be a bird show in Jackson so she said, ‘Why don’t we go and see if they have an African Gray?’”

The pet show had a single African Gray, no more than a hatchling, just a couple of weeks old.

The Petigos made the purchase on the spot, taking delivery of Pepper when she was about four months old.

For the somewhat skeptical Dewey, Pepper has been a source of amusement — and surprise.

“Up until about five years ago, we thought Pepper was a male,” he said. “Then she started laying eggs.”

At 22, Pepper would be nearing the end of the lifespan for an African Gray not in captivity.

For captive birds given good care, African Grays can live into their 40s, even 50s.

There’s a good chance Pepper may outlive Dewey, 75, and Patty, 72.

“Unless something happens, she’s going to outlast us,” Dewey said. “At that point, she’ll go live with one of the kids.”

Hopefully, that day lies far in the figure. In the meantime, the bond between Pepper and the Petigos — especially Dewey — continues to grow, much to the delight of visitors to the shop.

“For some reason, she has really taken to me,” Dewey said. “I’m the only one she’ll let hold her. She won’t even let Patty hold her. She bites and bites hard, but she never bites me. Sometimes I’ll take her out of her cage and stroke her, and she’ll start making this little whimper sound like a little puppy when it’s being petted. It’s like she wants more of that.”

Dewey said he’s not sure how many words and phrases Pepper knows.

“It’s a lot,” he said. “Fortunately, she hasn’t picked up any bad words, though. I caught a couple of guys trying to teach some four-letter words so I had to throw them out.” Dewey said.

Pepper seems quite happy living at the shop.

“We have our routine,” he said. “When I come into the shop in the morning, she gets all chipper and happy. She says, ‘Good morning.’ If I get busy and walk away too soon for her liking, she’ll say, ‘Dewey’ until I come back over to her. Then, when it’s time to go home, as I’m leaving she asks me if I want a cracker. That’s Pepper’s way of telling me that she’s the one who wants a cracker before I go home.”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

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