I Was On The News !!

[CamelotCrazee]

He he it was indeed me & my Catalina Macaw Dolly..(who is sitting on
my lap right now)
I was taking the trash out after cleaning the bird cages and Dolly
was on her stand. I had a couple big bags I was bringing out and a
new neighbor was walking by carrying a couch so I had to move out of
the way and when I did Dolly went flying out the door. She flew from
apartment building to building before settling on one. I panicked and
saw a comcast truck with a ladder driving around, so I ran the guy
and his truck down. He thought I was CRAZY !! I asked him if I could
borrow his ladder to get my bird down he said that he could get in
trouble for that, but he drove his truck around to where she was at
and carried his ladder over to the buildings roof she was on. As soon
as he lifted the ladder to the building Dolly flew off again into a
VERY tall tree...
So me who is scared Sh&%less of heights proceeded to climb the over
60 ft tree and try to bring Dolly down..I was certain she was just
going to fly off again but she didnt. I saw a neighbor down below and
asked her if she had a pair of scissors she could pass me up the tree
so when I got to Dolly I could clip her wings so she couldnt fly off
again when I caught her.(well half way up the tree I dropped the
scissors) As I got to the top of the tree where the branches get
smaller and thinner and less sturdy Dolly decided to move to the
other side of the tree. I kept calling to her and talking to her the
whole time, she stayed put even when the wind made her sway with the
branches on the tippy top of the tree. I was scared we were both
going down so miss handy dandy Cassie here who always carries her
cell phone on her LMAO (except for the two times it was stoloen when
I put it down at pet stores)..Called 911 and the dispatcher actually
laughed at me lol, when I told him me and my $2,500 bird were stuck
in a 60 ft tree. So after I made the call I got brave and decided
that if I was going to break my neck this was the way I was going to
do it, saving my bird. So just in my socks I climbed out to the
branch closest to Dolly and almost fell, but I grabbed one of her
feet and yanked her off the branch with my other hand holding onto a
skinny branch. So now I had both of dollys feet in a death grip in my
one hand and I pulled Dolly close to me and held her to my chest
with her back facing my chest. We held on till the fireman came...Did
I say fire man ?

I Meant 30 FIRE MEN !!!, 3 fire trucks from 2 diffrent fire
departments, 3 police cars, 6 police officers, the entire matinence
crew from the apartment building, an ambulance and EMT crew....and my
dad...lol Oh and the best part of all the a member of the fire
department happened to be a free lancer...And she taped the whole
thing and interviewed me at the end...
Now the problem was trying to figure out how to get me and dolly down
from the tree...they had the trucks and the ladders but because of
how tall the pine tree was and all the branches a regular ladder
wasnt going to work.. So they had to bring in the "Big Boy" the truck
with the ladder on it. SO the officers down below were laughing at me
and joking that the thought they had one of those inflateable mats i
could jump onto or one of those trampoline things I could fall
onto...and they were all laughing about me and the bird but once I
told them how much these birds cost their tunes quickly changed and
some of them agreed that they would climb up a tree too !!
So during the time I was up the tree I had called my dad and told him
I was suck up the tree. So the fireman drove the truck over the brand
new side walks that were just put in to get to me in the tree, once
the extended the ladder to me the fireman moved some of the branches
out of the way and brought dollys carrier up the ladder with
him..balancing with one hand and one foot (I was standing the whole
time) I got dolly into the carrier and locked her in and I let out a
big sigh of releif. Then all sap and dirt covered and sticky I
climbed down the ladder once they had passed dolly down the ladder
and she was safely on the ground with my dad.
I kept trying not to look down and just look up lol, my socks were
slippery...But I got safely to the ground as well and when I got down
I thanked everyone and the free lancer who had been taping me in the
tree wanted an interview...I told her I wanted to see Dolly first and
check on her. Dolly was okay and we were both interviewed (Dolly of
course through her carrier)
So all ended well...I was sooo embarrased but I couldnt really care I
was just happy to have dolly back..
I would do it all over again for my bird or anyone elses !! I keep
all of my birds full flighted and after this experience I thought
about clipping them..But I let my guys fly around the house, so next
time I just have to make sure all birds are in cages before anyone
opens any doors or windows. I know that after all the horror stories
I have heard over the years from the news,fellow bird lovers, and
customers at the bird stores I've worked at I should have known
better. And I always thought this will never happen to me. But you
live and learn, thankfully this lesson in my life had a happy
ending...
Oh and I left out that the apartment complex manager asked me where I
lived when all was said and done, I told him that I didnt live there
that my boyfriend did. He asked me which apartment he lived in, and I
told him and he told me that I may have to pay some fines for
whatever the fire trucks destroyed. In my case the truck cracked 4
squares of new sidewalk, left alot of tracks in the grass and cracked
the concrete where these community mailboxes were..So I was told I
was going to have to pay for the damage which was estimated at $250-
1,000.. This was an expensive rescue but well worth it and as I said
before I'd do it all over again. And the person that owns the
apartment has to pay the fines..lol not me..j/k I will pay for it !
Oh and so after the property manager showed me what I needed to
replace, the free lancer gave me her number and said to call her so I
could find out which news station I would be on..
She called me back and told me that at 5:30m pm I was going to be on
channel six news, she said the other stations would have picked it up
but the debates were going to be on so they didnt..I just wish I
could see the video online but they just show a bad pic of me in the
tree. Thank god I was wearing some makeup !!


You can see the video of the rescue on the news online:
6abc.com: Woman rescuing bird needs rescuing 4/17/08

[Jannabellsmom]

What an adventure. The only part I find really sad is that some people only responded to the monetary value of the bird and not to the heart value of loving and adoring and being family with the bird. But anyhow, I'm so glad they came thru for you in the end and you should be rightly proud of yourself for fast thinking and all your bravery in the rescue.

[Oscars Mom]

Before you pay for the sidewalks find out for sure who is responsible for them .Where i live people have to shoveletc but the city is responsible for maintenance and repairs. I used to be a manager in an apt in La and the owner routinely billed both tenants and put in insurance claims.The type of policy apts have usually cover stuff like this.Anyway you goy your bird backYEAH!!!!!!!!!!

[PanAmazon]

WOW! Congrats on getting her back! Happy for you!!

[jmstraight]

I'm so glad you got Dolly back! Seeing how high you were in the tree made my belly do a little flip-flop.

[ILv2Go]

What a happy ending. Is there a video of the interview she did with you? I'm so glad you are ok and so is your "baby."

[Valo's Moirana]

WAY TO GO congrats to overcoming your fears, rescuing your bird successfully, and having it all taped on video!!!

what a story LOL

[WildWaldo7]

WOW!! I would have been so embarrassed, but you definitely did the right thing! Now we can ALL say you are truly a bird lover! HA i'm glad your both ok!

[Chico's Mom]

What an amazing story! I am so glad this had a happy ending! The video was great...I cannot believe how HIGH you climbed!! I keep my cell on me all the time, and that story reinforced that habit for sure! Congratulations!

[greencinacheeks]

wow!!! what day that must have been!!!! congrat on getting your bird back!!!!

Happy all turned out well!!!

~Nate