They sure are. Just to distract you, here she is with one of our cats. At one point, we had 2 dogs, 6 cats, a turtle outside in a pond, and a bunch of fish in a bigger pond.

We now only have 1 cat left next to the dogs/turtle/fish, but... we have a parrot since 3 years. And as amazing as dogs are - and I am truly fascinated by their behaviour, intelligence, kindness - a parrot takes it up a nudge. And animal that says "See you later" when you put on your shoes, or "Goodnight" when it wants to go to sleep, or "Tasty, huh?" when you are eating... it's weird. He knows about 60 words & sounds that make sense, he can laugh, cough (parrots do not cough...), order the dogs around.

He naturally became the boss of everyone in the house (and I often think, that includes us), he's extremely funny, mischievous, and... loves petting more than any other critter we have (and I can even pet the fish).

Animals are awesome.