By PAMELA ROBINSON
It all started when Beavis caught an updraft that carried her high above the roofs of downtown Gainesville.
Beavis is a green conure, a small breed of parrot. She was downtown with her owner, Joe Easter, traveling on his shoulder. Apparently, her wings needed to be clipped again, because she was gone.
Joe was more than upset. His mom was horrified. His aunt was heart-broken. Joe’s sister wondered why the house was so quiet.
Joe’s mom put a lost bird ad in the Register and called around to alert people of their lost pet.
Two days passed and it was Monday morning. Mom called the zoo to check in and, believe it or not, they had found a stray green bird.
Here’s the story. Someone from B-29 Investments found Beavis in the Arby’s parking lot. Or rather, Beavis found her and climbed up her leg. She took her to work.
At work, she called the zoo to see if they could come and get the bird. Susan Klevin brought a cage over and secured Beavis and then took her to the Civic Center. Pet visitors are not allowed at the zoo.
“She was a very good house-guest,” said Lynette Pettigrew, who, along with coworkers, watched out for Beavis during her day at the center.
“They all have definite personalities,” said Pettigrew. Beavis has a talent for getting people attached to her.
On the day that Beavis came to the Civic Center, John Ockels of the Texoma Council of Governments was doing some training. Being a bird-lover himself, he became somewhat attached to Beavis, who was obviously tame and used to people. He offered to take her home to Sherman and care for her until her owners were found.
When he got the call that the owners had been found, he was sad to give up Beavis, but did so willingly.
Joe and his brother went out to Sherman to meet and thank Ockels and to retrieve Beavis. Soon a text message was sent back to Gainesville, “we have got the bird.”
So, against most odds, Beavis got home safe and sound.
Beavis can now go back to scrap-booking, where she excels in tearing up paper. She can continue to join book club and join in for water-color painting sessions. She can wrestle with Felix, a kitten just about her size. If she gets bored she can just walk to the nearest exciting place in the house. Beavis always seems to get to the center of attention. She also loves to start squawking when people are cooking in the kitchen or unloading the dishwasher, or really, whenever she feels like it.
Beavis can’t tell anyone what she was up to the two days she was gone. Probably she was perusing the historic downtown district and keeping an eye out for hawks.
So why write a story about someone’s lost bird? Because it’s nice to know that we live in a community where people will take time out to care for a lost pet, and to help it get back home.
