I love animals, so having this happen has shocked us but I have learnt to accept what has happened Percy
WHEN a Chatsworth woman's 21-year-old African Grey parrot died in August last year, an elderly couple "blessed" her with a similar breed bird two weeks later. He was named Percy and was 26 years ago.
On Wednesday, Percy went missing and his distraught owner shared flyers of him on social media and with Reaction Unit South Africa in an attempt to find him. But this came with challenges.
Earlier today, the woman found part of Percy's remains in her puppy's poop.
"While it is difficult, I have learnt to accept that Percy is no more," said the woman.
Speaking about her beloved bird and recounting what happened, she said: "I had an African Grey, Mitoo, for 14 years. He was 21 when he died after he picked up an eye infection. Two weeks later, an elderly couple, who were parrot groomers, blessed me with their bird. They could no longer take care of them, so I got Percy five months ago.
"Percy was different from Mitoo. He was tame, calm and quiet. He lived in a large cage and his wings were clipped. I enjoyed grooming and petting him. Birds need sunlight, so on Wednesday, after two days of rain, I left him outside in his cage. The latch was closed.
"But later I noticed the door was slightly open. He probably squeezed his way through. I was frantic with worry and later that evening, I put out a missing bird flyer on social media. I got an SMS at around 8.30pm from a man who said he picked up an African Grey in Croftdene in Chatsworth.
"When I called him, he said he did not have social media or WhatsApp and that he lived in Hillcrest. A friend had apparently shown him the flyer. He gave us directions to Hillcrest. We left our home at 8.30pm and by 11.30pm, when we were still unable to find his location, he asked for money for data. I suspected he was trying to scam us. I don't know what his intentions were but what he did to us was upsetting."
She said earlier today, she noticed Percy's remains in her one-year-old puppy's poop.
"I love animals, so having this happen has shocked us but I have learnt to accept what has happened. Percy was a lovely parrot and we will miss him dearly."
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