A collection of stories about animals which became beloved and famous, including Balto the sled dog which found his way through a blinding snowstorm and Koko the gorilla which learned sign language.

"Kay Powell, theatrical agent to non-human animals, is babysitting--that is, birdsitting--her client, a parrot named Barney, on the set of his new TV show, Dead City. When the show's charismatic star is shot in his trailer between scenes, the only eyewitness to the crime is--you guessed it--Barney. And even though Kay keeps explaining that even a "talking" parrot doesn't actually converse with people, the investigators insist on interrogating the...