Parrot Custody Battle

[ashxo]

I was outside hanging out laundry one day when a cockatiel crash-landed in my backyard. Thank GOODNESS I had my dogs chained up at the time while I had my laundry out.
The poor bird was absolutely buggered, I don't know how long it had been flying. It was tame, too. It screamed at me and tried to flap away when I approached it but once it got over the shock I was able to pick it up.

Stunning bird, too. I don't know what the mutation is, but it was mainly yellow with bright orange cheeks and grey feathers on the topside of its wings. Gorgeous. Anywho, I conned my boyfriend into helping me deliver flyers throughout the inner of my neighbourhood and posted a couple in the shopping complex, and 3 or 4 days later a woman rang me and asked about the bird. She said it was her 7 year old daughter's pride and joy. I included a photo on the flyers and being such a stunning bird I wasn't entirely convinced this individual was its correct owner. I thought perhaps she was trying to score a free bird, y'know, you think about those things. I'd have felt awful if in the end I found out i'd given the bird to the wrong person.

Anywho the woman came around after school hours that day and brought her daughter, and once I saw the child with the bird, there was no doubt in my mind that it was hers. They were amazing together.. the bond they displayed was one that couldn't be faked, if you know what I mean?
Bless her heart, the child offered to give me all of her pocket money as a reward for finding her baby for her. I didn't take it though, I didn't see the need for it.

ANYWAY, terribly sorry for the thread-jacking, I just thought i'd share because the beginning of my story is similar to this case. I'd feel terrible if I didn't make an effort to find the birds owner.

[mabird]

Originally Posted by daydream

All I know is that was one scared looking bird flapping away on the video...... so sad.

You know daydream, your post caused me to watch the video (I hadn't before, had only read the article)

I've come to a conclusion... I think going to the original owner was "right" as far as the 2 owners are involved involved IF the parrot wasn't a living creature. Animals are not objects, and I feel that that part of the law should be changed.

That being said, I think the bird remaining with the second woman would've been better for the bird. He does look scared to death to be away from his mommy (to him... meaning the second woman) I bet if that woman (the original mom) had let go of his toes, he'd have flown right back to the other woman.

I feel so bad for him... poor scared baby. Why couldn't woman #2 have just kept her mouth shut @ DDs?

[New Ekkie Mom]

He did look scared, but I don't know that I would say it's specifically because of the original owner. There was a LOT going on around that bird right then, and we also did not see how he behaved with the second owner. He may be just as skittish with her. Or with anyone who is surrounded by all those people, noises, and big scary black cameras and microphones.

I did not hear if it mentioned how long the bird was with the original owner before it flew away. If the original owner only had him 6 months before he flew off, I might give more consideration to the new owner. However, like others have mentioned, it doesn't really say how much of an effort the new owner made to find the original owner when she initially found the bird. If she didn't try to find the new owner, than she's essentially stealing, imo. If you find a wallet on the street and don't try to find the owner but just take what's in it, that's stealing...not finders, keepers.

I know if my child got lost, and someone else found him and took him in and cared for him, I'd sure as heck still want him back 3 years later, regardless of how good a home he was in with the new person. It might be an adjustment period for him, but he should still come home.

[ashxo]

Well said, New Ekkie Mom :)

[Syaoransbear]

I lost my budgie named Ozzy many years ago. The phone rang and scared him just as my mom opened the backdoor and out he went. I put out loads of signs but couldn't find him. If I knew someone had him and they wouldn't give him back to me I'd just bawl my eyes out. I still cry about him sometimes. I'm glad the bird went to the original owner. The new owner should have realized that keeping a bird that isn't yours could produce an outcome like this. My parents friends found a lost budgie but couldn't find the owner so they gave him to me. I put up found ads but nobody came for him. I will occasionally put up found ads for him on kijiji because I'm still waiting for his owner to come even though I've had him for almost a year now.

[JNS]

It's certainly a difficult situation to really form an opinion on, especially without more specific information.

The bottom line is that many people are greedy. Imagine if you found an expensive parrot, some people might consider just bypassing the right thing and just keep it and act like nothing happened. If the woman who found the CAG made no effort to find the original owner, she is in the wrong as far as I'm concerned. You can't expect a judge to be sympathetic that way. Now, if she made a reasonable effort to find the original owner, and no one ever came forward, there should be a statute of limitations. Three years is a long time, and as long as the animal hadn't been abused, there has to be some kind of consideration for them. I don't think they should get to keep the animal, but at least something.

[SisterBlue]

This is a hard one, and I had a similar experience as well.

My husband found a stray dog (black lab) 3 years ago. It was summer in Phoenix - brutal. My husband is in construction, and was working on the house of an elderly woman. She told him that this dog had been coming around, and she'd been putting food and water out for him, but she wasn't able to keep him. He was friendly, but had clearly been on the streets for a while. He was skin and bones, his toenails were ground down to nubs, bleeding pads on his feet, etc. He had a collar on, but no tags.

We didn't live far from the woman and so we took him home. I ran an ad in the lost and found section of the classifieds in the local paper for 2 weeks, I put up posters at PetSmart, I called animal control to see if they had a "lost" notice, and I took him to the vet to have him scanned - no microchip.

Three years later he's still with us and one of the best dogs I've ever had. He's also microchipped and licensed now. I have a clear consience because I feel as though I did everything I could have to find his owner.

That said, if I somehow happened to run into his original owner, how would I feel about giving him back? They would definitely have to take me to court!

-SB

[prettypenguin]

I've been on both sides of the lost/found issue. My bf had a tiel named krakhed that he found, put an ad in the paper, and had as a pet for 8 yrs or so. He flew away, and up went the ads again. We both hoped that wherever he ended up, he was loved. If someone had found him (coincidentally, we also lived in s. fl at the time) and we found out, I would hope that they did the right thing and returned him- my bf would have if someone answered the found ad. I do think of him often and hope he's ok. My girls are both banded just in case.