The sulphur crested cockatoo soon became a celebrity in Daylesford and will now feature in a new book dedicated to the beloved animals. 

I Want a Cocky for Christmas, written by Val Farrell, talks about the joys and heartbreak associated with pet ownership. 

The Daylesford woman fell in love with her first cocky as a teenager when their pure white feathers and majestic crest caught her eye.

Years later she adopted one but it was "a disaster" - she couldn't get the wild out of him and spent a lot of time and effort controlling him before letting him go.

Her second contracted beak and feather disease and had to be euthanised, but she wouldn't give up.

She found Bert and life changed forever.

"He would come camping with us wherever we went and would just chat to everyone that came to see us," Ms Farrell laughed.

"He'd come down the street with me and drink tea with us and play with his toys on the couch." 

Soon enough, Ms Farrell and Bert were conducting talks at aged care facilities across the region together and raising money for wildlife shelters.

Bert has since been released back into the wild, with Ms Farrell "knowing it was time". 

It's these stories - funny and sad - that will be shared in I Want A Cocky for Christmas, now on sale across the region and online. 

She wants people to know the joys of having a cocky, but also the hard work that comes along with it.

She was prompted to get started after volunteering at the wildlife shelter for five years.

"You can't just give up on cockies and leave them in your backyard," she said.

"They can be hilarious characters and I just drool over some of them now that I see at the shelter." 

$5 from each book sold will go towards the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter. 

People can buy the book from Paradise Books, Book Barn and online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Ms Farrell will also sell and sign copies at the Daylesford Sunday Market.