Annapolis was especially cold last winter. Just two days earlier we had nearly two feet of snow on the ground in the historic district of the Maryland State Capital. While I had my front door open to talk with a neighbor, my pet cockatiel, George, flew past us out into the cold! He had had his wings clipped just a few weeks ago, but when I last saw him he was flying high and strong down Cathedral Street and headed toward the Anne Arundel County Court House.

Immediately I searched through the neighborhood repeatedly calling his name and blowing a distinct whistle I had taught him while we showered in the mornings. No luck. I thought this bird had a wonderful life. Why would he want to go out on his own?

I went home and placed his cage outside on our deck and played a nature tape that he was used to hearing thinking he might hear it and head home; still no George. I was heart broken. It was so cold out, I couldn't imagine that George would be able to survive the weather much less be able to survive in the wilds of city life.

I remembered that the local newspaper ran lost pet ads for a week for free. I called them and wrote in the ad that he talked and said "I love you George" often.

As the week went on my four year old daughter and I placed posters all around town hoping that one of our neighbors would see George in a bush or tree or power line making friends with the local sparrows and finches.

The poster had a picture of George sitting on my daughters shoulder and offered a reward; but no calls came in. Each night I asked my husband if he thought I'd ever get George back. He didn’t think there was much hope. On the fourth day I awoke that morning feeling that I knew George would be home that day. I cleaned his entire cage and put all his toys in the dishwasher. My husband called from work around noon, I told him I was cleaning the cage and he asked if it made me sad to do it. I said no; not today it didn’t. I just had a strong feeling that he was coming home that day.

I swear it was no more than 15 minutes after I put the cage back together that I got a phone call. The man on the other end said, "I don't want to get your hopes up, but I found a bird on the same day you say you lost George. But I'm about 40 miles from Annapolis on Gibson Island on the tip of the Magothy River!"

This guy that found George was so protective of him. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to take care of my bird. He interviewed me in depth on the phone to make sure that this was my bird. He had placed an ad in the same newspaper that I had, stating that he had found an "Exotic Bird" so people would have to identify the type of bird in order to prevent the wrong sort of person from claiming the bird. He had found the bird around 6 pm on the same day George had flown out of our house. That was roughly 4 hours after he went out the front door. George was found on top of the new snow shivering violently. Being a rather tame bird use to humans George readily came to the man who put him inside his coat to warm him up.

The man who found George was a service manager at a local Kia car dealership. He sent one of his employees to the nearest pet store for supplies: a cage, a few toys, and some food. He told me that when he found him, George was very cold and thirsty. So he took him home and placed the ad. He and his wife immediately fell in love with George!

The next day after I received the phone call I put the kids in the minivan and off we went on a 45 (plus) minute drive to Gibson Island. The guy who found him was still not sure he was mine and didn’t’ completely trust me! As soon as I was on the porch I knew it was George by his call. The moment I looked into the cage he said, “I love you! He’s a good boy!” and now the man who found George knew this was my bird!

George was so excited to see me. He was climbing up the sides of the cage and when the door opened he flew on the top of my head and repeatedly was saying "He’s a good boy, he’s a good boy!” But I very sternly informed him that he was NOT a good boy, and that I was almost an hour from home with two kids in a minivan in a Maryland snow storm. I also let George know that with the ad, the reward (which the man repeatedly turned down, but a deal was a deal and I had stated in the paper a reward) and the extra supplies, his 4 day vacation had cost me nearly $400.00.

I hugged the man that found George and thanked him for taking such good care of my bird. He took pictures of George and gave him a kiss with tears in his eyes as he said goodbye. On that day they did not have their own ‘teil but I bet they do today. On the trip home we stopped at the veterinarian’s office and had George’s wings clipped; a little closer this time.

A side from George’s obvious excitement in seeing me and hearing my voice again, he picked up a few new words. The only discernible word was the name, “Rudy”. All we can imagine was that someone found him in Annapolis and drove him toward Baltimore only to lose him near the Kia dealership. And we believe that person is named “Rudy”. George is my first bird and he continues to surprise the family with his antics, his intelligence, and his affection toward his human family. I hope this story gives hope to those who have also lost their bird. I think the most important factor in getting George back was placing the ad in the local paper. You also need to get lucky and have wonderful animal loving people find your pet. I prayed a lot too.
Good luck and thanks for listening to my story.