I feel horrible

[merlinsmom13]

Sounds like his name is Sam. What a great story.

 

[Crone]

ROFL yesterday he told Chris "Will you shut up!" Then started saying "nice bird nice bird" lol. I imagine his owner must have told him a lot "will you shut up". Just had to share!

 

[c3honey84]

Someone told me that if the leg band begins with FX, then that stands for the breeder "Florida Exotics." My female eclectus' band starts with FX, but she was purchased in NJ. My point is that even though your male was bred in Florida, he could be from anywhere! Just a thought!

 

[Crone]

Oh yes, I talked to the breeder. She sells to a lot of Petco and PetSmart places, as well as private pet stores. She said she has misplaced her record on that specific sell, but is still looking for it. She verified her leg band and the age and what kind of parrot he is and such.

Ads go in more papers this week. TV and radio next. We will see what we can do! He is talking more and more. Pretty bird, nice bird, hey hey hey hey (over and over), Hi Mom, Papaw, Where's Papaw, kiss kiss, he whispers things, will you shut up, what are you doing, meows, makes kissy noises, whistles for dogs, hello, and more.

I hope some day soon I can post he was reunited with his owner (who must have been male because he uses a male voice when talking a lot).

So far he is still eating very well, socializing well, seems happy and healthy.

 

[Crone]

Mojo (what I am calling him) was listed on TV and radio this morning as lost. I got 18 phone calls today on my cell at work. Every single one of them only called because they wanted me to just give Mojo to them because they either love birds, have always wanted a bird, have a connection to birds, use to have a bird that died, their kid wants a bird, will a cage and toys come with him if I give him away, maybe I should just give him to them because they are a responsibility and need a lot of care and I probably know nothing about birds so they will relieve me of any stress from taking care of him or...... if I will give him to one person......they will find a good home for him and sell him to the good home!

FRUSTRATION!

Another TV station will be running a story on him the next few days. Can't wait to see what crazy calls I get when that one comes out.

Meanwhile, he is doing fine, still happy, loving, eating well and loves to play tickle now. When you say tickle tickle he will raise a wing for you to tickle him. I am amazed at the intelligence in these beautiful animals. But then again...as caller 12 said....I probably don't know what I am doing! lol

Still have my fingers crossed that I will find his family!

 

[Molcan2]

That is so frustrating! I think you are providing an excellent home for him, it doesn't take years of experience, just research and love. I would really screen the people to make sure that what they say is 'their bird' is really their bird. I would be very wary, there are so many just looking for a buck these days. I think that if you cant find his true owner, that you should keep him where he is happy - with you.

 

[nofearengineer]

Crone, at some point you're going to accept that he has found his forever family already.

I know there may be someone out there who misses him and may have lost him through no fault of their own; i.e. tornado, etc. If that's the case, I really feel sorry for them.

However, you're really in a quandary as to how to tell if the person who shows up at your door is really the owner, or just some scammer looking to flip a bird and make some bucks.

Even if it 's the real owner, I think you have been taking better care of him than they did. An escaped bird's nails and beak don't grow longer like that... lots of stuff to chew on and wear down the nails in the wild. Nails and beaks grow long in a cage. In my analytical opinion, he was only recently lost or escaped, and his condition was likely what it was with his previous owner.

If I were you, I would take this as a sign that you were meant to be a parront to a wonderful little Ekkie.

You have done your due diligence...let yourself off the hook and enjoy him.

Just my opinion, others have their own.

 

[Colorguarder08]

I think that the bird has picked you. I would just keep it at this point.

 

[alleycat39402]

That bird is so lucky that it found you! Anything could have happened to the poor thing while he was outside! You saved his life!

 

[Crone]

A sad goodbye is about to happen. I located the owner and she was able to identify him beyond any doubt. The reason for his being lost was legit as well and I don't suspect he was not taken care of. I will post more later, she is on her way to pick him up....and I need to cry.

 

[Nakiska]

OMG! i'm a bit shocked...actually.

Kudo's to you for going absolutely above and beyond the call of duty to find his original owner. My heart aches for you as I've begun to feel as if I know you and this ekki through this thread.

Hugs to you and although this sounds awful...I am sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for the rest of the story of how he got loose and how the runiting goes.

Maybe you can have visitations

You are in my thoughts and prayers and keep your chin up

Toni

 

[Molcan2]

I'm so sorry Crone . What you did was very nice, and far above what most people would have done with a found bird. He was brought to you for a very special reason. Maybe it was to look after someone else's baby ensuring his safety and at the same time to expose you to what life with a parrot is like. I hope you don't get discouraged and give up on sharing your home with a parrot. You sound like you would make a fabulous owner to a very fortunate bird. I know how quickly a bond forms with these guys, I'm sorry for your loss

 

[merlinsmom13]

So sorry, I was hoping you could keep him. Be sure to watch how he responds to the lady, just in case its a con. If its his long lost owner, he will be so grateful to you to have found her.

 

[LoveMauiGus]

That is bittersweet. I am sad for you, but you are doing the right thing and have a heart of gold. Surely you have not taken care of him in vain. Just imagine what could have happened to him without you. Perhaps the owner will let you visit occasionally?

When you are ready, I would love to hear how you were able to find the owner and what the story behind it all ended up being.

Hugs to you, stay strong.
I like this quote and I think it applies to our bird friendships too..
"[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Times New Roman,Times,serif]People will come and go into our lives quickly, but sometimes we are lucky to meet that one special person that will stay in our hearts forever no matter what. Even though we may not always end up being with that person and they may not always stay in our life for as long as we like, the lessons that we have learned from them and the experiences that we have gained from meeting that person, will stay with us forever."[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[mtdoramike]

A sad goodbye is about to happen. I located the owner and she was able to identify him beyond any doubt. The reason for his being lost was legit as well and I don't suspect he was not taken care of. I will post more later, she is on her way to pick him up....and I need to cry.

Thanks you for doing the right thing. I think any person who has lost their beloved pet would hope that the person who finds it would do as you have done and exhaust every effort to find it's owner. It's a sad day for you, but I'll bet a joyous day for the owner.

 

[Crone]

Well I spent most of the day at work writing emails, posting on tons of facebook pages, searching every lost pet forum and website out there, contacting MANY more newspapers and he was on TV this entire week. I had another station coming Monday to do a filming about him an put a story on the air about him. I got such bad news from the Doc yesterday about a mass he found on my bowels and was so depressed today. It was just not a good time for me at all.

I was about to leave work and my friend that discovered the parrot in her yard called my cell and said she found the parrots owner and wanted to know if I wanted the phone number. She was at a store near her house and there was a poster with the bird on it. She said she would not give me the number if I did not want it. I told her I had to call and got the number. I called and the woman was very nice. She described the breed, sex, that it had a leg band, the age and most of its vocabulary. She said the friend that gave it to her 8 years ago had the leg band number written down an she could get it and call me. I told her there was no use and she asked if he was dead.

Through tears I told her he was fine and that it was her bird for sure. She told me that he called dogs, meowed like a cat, asked questions like "what are you doing?" and his name was Max. She told me more things about him and I knew it was him. But in my mind I was thinking if he is not happy to see her, she may have to take me to court. I gave her the address and she showed up.

I got to my daughter's and said well Mr....I just found out your name is Max! He perked up and started chattering. I told him I found out all kinds of things about him and his Mama was on her way to get him. He got on my shoulder and I swear it was like he knew. He started pruning himself and talking and chattering like crazy, kissing me all over and grooming me. He was on my shoulder standing in front of the door looking outside. She pulled into the driveway and he saw her van. He screamed VERY loud and looked so closely at the vehicle. She got out and he was trembling. He started screaming over and over as she walked through the yard and flapping his wings. When she walked in there was no mistaking it. He jumped at her and she flipped him upside down and held him like a baby and kissed him all over. He was kissing and loving back and so happy. He sat on her shoulder as she told us what happened and then he came to each of us and kissed is all goodbye. She walked out the door with him in her hand and he cuddled up next to her and was placed in a cage in the vehicle.

She said he has 3-4 cages at home and actually has his own bedroom. She has had him 8 years and her friend who gave him to her had him 3 years. He was in one of his cages on the porch and it was about to storm. She knew he was scared of storms so she was taking him back inside. Lightening struck nearby, she dropped the cage, he got scared, it busted open, he bolted into a neighbors tree. The lightening and thunder scared him to death and he just started flying and there was nothing she could do but look for him for weeks and cry. She figured a neighbors dog had killed him. I told her his beak needs trimmed and she said she has a thing to trim it and it makes him real mad. She was planning to trim it that weekend.

She said the previous owner had him years ago and he was in a screened in porch, chewed a hole in the screen and got out, but they found him that day. Strange thing is, we ran across that ad on the internet and blew it off because it was 2004. His name was listed as Max and Amanda went into the room and called him that....we should have known when he perked up and started chattering. But we had no clue the missing parrot in 2004 was the same one! He was missing this time for 2 days when I found him.

She offered to reimburse us and we said no. She has bees and gets honey and said she plans to bring us honey when they rob the hives. She also said I can come and visit him any time I want and if she ever needs a sitter, she will call me.

I feel good about turning him over to her and there were tears for sure.

I want to thank everyone on these forums for your kindness and wisdom. I have no intention to get a bird of my own. We live without electricity and it is just not a good match. Besides that, I foster a lot of different animals as I stated before. I always end up with some stray for awhile or a wild animal that needs rehabilitation. I think that is actually my calling. If I was rich, I know I would have a no kill shelter. lol Maybe that is why I am not rich. I am here to love them, show them they are safe and care for them until they are reunited or able to make it in the wild on their own.

I would not have missed this experience for the world though and am grateful we had him these few weeks and could give him a safe home.

Thank you all so much and I am glad this had a happy ending!

 

[alleycat39402]

You are the best person ever! Your story has brought tears to my eyes. I agree with a previous poster when I they called this story bittersweet. I am crying while typing this. Do you think you will ever get an Eclectus?

 

[suncon97]

Awww I can't imagine how you must feel. You are a great person for doing what you have done for that bird. I'm wondering the same as alleycat.Do you think you'll ever get an Eclectus?

 

[Rio Mom]

Crone,
You are a wonderful, generous person. Thank you so much for your determination to find Max's owner. I'm sure they appreciate you more than you can possibly imagine. Maybe one day your situation will allow for you to have a bird, as I truly belive you would make an awesome parront.

 

[Amber]

You've done a wonderful thing. I know if Alex was ever to escape I would be heartbroken. It's so easy to assume because someone let their bird escape that they don't care for it, and hence very few people upon findind a bird will look for its owner. Even fewer are ever returned to their homes. Unlike dogs and cats, birds rarely get that privilege of being taken home if they are lost. Although Max had a wonderful time with you, and it's so sad to see him go, I think he's back where he belongs. Good thoughts heading your way, it's ok to be sad, but you've done the best thing. Perhaps you should think of getting yourself an ekkie o another bird? Their are plenty of bird rescues with little guys and gals just waiting for a forever home.