Saturday, November 11, 2006

Old Post holiday story, Ornithophobiacs beware

Rather than write my own stuff, I will just type the newspaper article. ID changes will be in Bold. (other than the title)

Bird In The Hand Worth Owner's Caper In Tree

Bray, CA- This is a very tall, but true tale of how firefighters rescued an angry bird pursued by his angry owner up a 60 foot tall pine tree.

The rescue transpired Sunday morning in front of John Doe's home at 1111 Sweater St, in a pine tree towering beyond the reach of the Fire department's tallest ladders.

It all began when a Tales Ln resident decided to take his macaw parrot to the veterinarian to have its wings clipped. After all, the brilliant blue-green bird was an expensive creature and it wouldn't do to have it flying off into the wilds of Bray, the owner reasoned.

(A ------ bird dealer said the bird costs an average of $1000, but can cost anywhere from $800 to $5,000, depending on size and color)

But as the pair left the house, the macaw decided it didn't want to be clipped and escaped.

The bird flew to the top of a pine tree, waiting for its owner to climb up after it. Up the tree the man climbed, without the aid of gloves or ropes.

Just as he reached the top, the bird flew off again. Back down to the ground the owner climbed, only to see the bird return to the tree.

Up the tree went the angry owner again. This time he grabbed the bird before it could escape.

"The bird was mad about being captured. It chewed his (the owner's) hand up pretty good" Said one of the firefighters.

Still the owner, who fire officials identified only as a resident of Tales Ln, wouldn't let go. Firemen were called, but their 55 foot ladder wouldn't reach the struggling pair.

"We took a 10 foot pole with a hook on it and hooked a rope sack on the end and pushed it up to him. The owner put the bird in the bag and we brought the bag down, while the owner climbed down" recalled firefighters.

Down on the ground, the bird was not the least bit grateful about being rescued.

"It was so mad, none of us would reach in the bag to take it out" a firefighter said.

So the owner, muttering about how "I woulda wrung its neck but it was a Christmas present" took the bird and bag to the vet, returning the bag to the fire station after the bird was clipped.

I was the firefighter with the bag and pole. I was at the VERY end of the ladder, holding the VERY end of the pole, sticking it into the branches of the tree where I heard the "Ows" and curses coming from. I never saw the man or bird.

4 comments:

  1. I guess it's safe to say the owner isn't afraid of heights. I tell you, I don't care how expensive it was or who gave it to me, that bird would have been safe from me it he sat only halfway up the tree.

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  2. Another gem sir.

    I am with Cipher, as soon as the bird was outside of my reach he/she is a free bird, (cue Skynard man!)

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  3. For brevity, I left out the fact they paid $1500 for the bird. This was in the late '80's, so it's a bit more than today's dollar's. Also if it was a gift from the wife or mother in law, it's priceless. Also left out, the bird flew to another tree, the owner climbed THAT one, then the bird flew back to the original tree where he was captured.

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  4. In my opinion, that bird knew exactly what a pain in the ass it was being.

    We cohabit with a parrot, and I wear heavy leather gloves when I need to do something unpopular with avians (these gloves are called "the Hand of Authority").

    I loved this story; thanks for sharing i!

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