The profile will air on Animal Planet in the fall.

By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- At a Christmas party a few years ago, Nick Carano met the bird of his dreams.
"He talks, he tells you 'I love you,'" Carano said, as the umbrella cockatoo sitting on the shoulder of his wife, Nancy, greeted pedestrians in front of St. Elizabeth Health Center. "I love the bird like a kid."
America will soon have the chance to meet Ouija, the big white cockatoo that flew into Carano's heart nearly four years ago.
This weekend, a local crew is filming the story of how Ouija came to live with Carano, 62, of Girard, and how the two became volunteers to cheer up elderly residents at local nursing homes.
The tale will be featured on "Pet Stories," afternoon program on the cable channel Animal Planet.
Therapy bird
"The bond between the two is just so inspiring," said Bette Hanson, producer of the half-hour segment. Even more inspiring is their work to bring comfort to elderly patients, she said.
Ouija, like other affectionate birds, flies around, sits on shoulders and cuddles in bed. Left unattended, he chews on furniture and once pecked out all the rubber buttons in a cable remote, Carano said.
But Ouija is also a therapy bird, one of just a few who have passed a rigorous test of manners and good behavior to join the local group, K-9s for Compassion. After studying under member Mary Westover and her bird, Moss, the pair have become regular visitors to local nursing homes.
"We were in an Alzheimer's section one time," Carano said. "He said 'I love you' and they all lit up."
The bird is one of a cadre of about 50 animals in the local group. Entrance exams are held twice a year at St. Elizabeth Health Center, where about 30 dogs and their handlers regularly visit patients who officials say are ecstatic to see them.
"Part of it is social, and part of it is spiritual magic," said Beth Fink, who judges potential therapy animals for membership in the club. Nine out of 10 don't make it, she said.
Ouija's successful exam was recreated Sunday in a lobby of St. Elizabeth for the television show. Cameramen also shot footage of Ouija showering with Carano as though they were getting ready to visit a nursing home, and of the two driving around in Carano's 1957 Chevy.
Ouija's previous owner, Cheryl Sokya, of Canfield, will also make a guest appearance with her therapy dog Emily. She gave Ouija to Carano a few months after the party.
"Ouija needed a lot more time than I had," she said. "He found that with the Caranos."