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Parrot Stolen from Skowhegan Pet Store

October 25, 2010 - SKOWHEGAN -- Sylvia Turner said that one minute the African gray parrot was in its cage in her pet shop and the next minute, it was gone.

Turner, owner of Family Pet Connection at 338 Madison Ave., said the baby parrot was stolen Thursday as she worked in the store.

She is offering a reward for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the theft.

"I feel bad that people have to resort to stealing like this," Turner said Sunday. "My hope is that whoever has the bird knows how to care for it."

Turner said the bird was stolen sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday at her store, located next to Radio Shop in a small mall off Madison Avenue.

The baby bird, valued at $1,300, is gray with red tail feathers and is between eight and 10-inches long. It is not fully grown and does not yet speak, as it was still being trained, she said.

"We've had it for three weeks," she said. "We've been working with it. We take it out every day. It had to learn how to hold on to your finger to perch."

Turner said she called police immediately after she realized it had been stolen and an officer took a report.

A dispatcher at Somerset County Communications said Sunday that Sgt. Keith Bigger handled the case but was going on vacation and so was unavailable Sunday for comment.

Turner said she thinks the person who stole the bird knows something about birds in general.

One who is unfamiliar with birds probably would not be comfortable concealing one under a coat or jacket to leave the store, as he or she would not know how the bird would react, she said.

"I'm thinking it's somebody that's been in the store before, that's seen the bird, that feels comfortable handling it," she said.

This is not the first time Turner has lost pets to theft. Over the years, she has tried to make the shop pet-friendly to the public by putting animals near the front of the store where people can pet them, she said.

But a dog was stolen about six years ago, so she had to move the dogs farther back in the store, she said. Reptiles also were stolen, so she moved them where they could be more easily monitored and put locks on their cages, she said.

The parrot, which has not been named, is a people-friendly bird which had been allowed to go in and out of its cage, she said.

"Everybody knew that it was very friendly," she said. "It was a cuddler -- it likes to cuddle."

She said that, even though the bird was for sale, she had grown attached to it. It can not survive outside in the cold, she said.

"The welfare of the bird right now is the thing I'm worried about," she said. "I don't know where it is."

Anyone with information about the bird's whereabouts should call police at 474-6908. She said people also may call her at the store at 474-7700 and she will relay information to police.

She said she is willing to take anonymous tips also.

By Amy Calder acalder@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
October 25, 2010


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