- Species: Amazon - Mexican Redhead, Green Cheeked, Red Crowned (See species list for details)
- Location: Puyallup, Washington, United States 98375
Reunited with Sissy By Gina Johnson
To my dear friends who are close, far, old and new,
This has been an amazing journey with each day being long and eventful. This is a story needing to be told. I will leave some parts out in the attempts to keep this documentary shorter than a novel. Lol
Sissy is our Red-headed Amazon. She is a small parrot who has a green body and a red forehead. She is a beloved pet. Sissy is quite a talker. She speaks in a high voice which has an accent which sounds like a sweet high pitched Julia Childs. Sissy also whistles the Andy Griffith song. She calls our cats, “Here kitty kitty“, and tells us that we are pretty birds, she asks us if she is a good girl. L0l. We love her.
Sissy has never attempted an escape. She is content, she likes to be near us and her other feathered friends. I tend to barely trim her wings. I usually trim them a tiny bit, I want her to be able to fly some but not more than fifty feet. She enjoys time in the sun and rain. Since Sissy is so loyal and trustworthy, I decided to let her wings grow all of the way out. My son and her enjoyed her flying abilities together.
For the past month or so, Sissy has enjoyed hovering above my son and landing on him. He has just turned 13 years old. Sissy bonded with him when he was 8 years old and he continues to remain her favorite human. She hangs from his hoody, sits on his shoulder and just loves to be near him. When he comes home from school, Sissy squeals with delight.
On July 3, 2013, Sissy was enjoying a day in the sun with our other birds. I knew that they would be inside for the next week because of all of the fireworks and our generally busy holiday schedule. As I was bringing everyone in, Sissy was the last to be picked up. Our sprinklers went off while fireworks exploded simultaneously and up Sissy went. She flew 80 feet up into a fir tree. She immediately began calling for me to get her.
I threw on some shoes and up the tree I went. I jumped from the fence top to make the first branch. Surprisingly, that didn’t scare me. I made it to the top of the tree in record time. By now it was dark and Sissy had gone silent. She was scared. I began to get scared too. I couldn’t find her amongst the dense foliage.
On my way down it was dark and dangerous. My daughter got out a flashlight. This helped at times and also blinded me at times. I momentarily considered spending the night in the tree. LOl It was nice to know that my daughter and husband were nearby watching and waiting. (My other kids were not home.) I made it down with only scratches, bruises, and an inch of sap and pitch covering me from head to toe. Twigs and branches were stuck in my hair. I looked so ridiculous my daughter started laughing. She says she was laughing because she was so relieved that I made it down the tree. We both know that I looked pretty funny.
By the way, the view from the top of that tree was amazing!!! I could even see Walmart from there. Okay, that part was kind of sad, but the rest was amazing. LOL Our forest was removed for some stores. The stores continue to be built less than a mile from our home. These stores include Kohls, Ross, Big 5, Walmart, restaurants etc..
I stayed up all that first night calling and looking for Sissy. At 4:30 in the morning, I heard her call out “step-up” in her sweet little voice. I could not find her. I put out a bunch of food and water just in case she came down on her own. Sissy has never been skilled at her descent. She flies up like a tiny helicopter. It’s pretty cute. Down is much scarier for her.
The next few days Sissy was on the move. We sent out an email to our neighbors and they began calling with sightings. Thank you for looking Debby, Aly, Amy, Kathy, Phil, Chris, Jessica, Cat, Pat, Jan, Carol, Ken, Erin, Sharon, Rachelle, Lora, Jake, Lee, Darlene, Stacey, Tracy, and Lisa with Inca’s, Cieaunna, and many more. It was really sweet to hear Sissy’s name echoing throughout the neighborhood. We were not home during some of the sightings. We had responsibilities and functions that still needed to be attended to, which was making me sick with worry. I was glad to know that Sissy was alive! I was touched and comforted to know that my neighbors were looking for her.
I put an ad on Craigslist, facebook, petalert.com, 911parrotalert.com, and Washingtonlostpets on facebook to name a few. I called the Humane Society each day, I called animal control, I called every vet in the area, I went to each pet store and I posted on my ‘eclectus-birdlist’ which consists of friends all over the world.
My bird friends, friends and neighbors encouraged me to NOT GIVE UP! Everyone kept me going. I walked around the neighborhood with my daughter and Sissy’s favorite bird buddies which are a Cockatoo (big white bird) named Navarro and an Eclectus (big green bird) named Emerald. My wonderful neighbor Aly and I went door to door to over 75 homes giving out fliers and posting fliers. Together, Aly and I set up Sissy’s cage outside and filled it with her favorite treats. Through this process, I found out that I have really wonderful neighbors.
Each night I let the birds in the backyard to call for Sissy just before dusk. Emerald called in all of Sissy’s voices and even called her name over and over. I had never heard him do that before. It kind of broke my heart. Sometimes, I thought I heard her respond. I thought I heard her say “hello”, and I thought I heard her call out each morning at around 6:30. We thought we saw her twice. My neighbors reported seeing her 4 times. My neighbors reported hearing her many times. We were all hearing her and seeing her in about a 2 mile radius around my home.
My ad on Craigslist brought to me many bird lovers that wanted to help find Sissy. A group of people actually came out and helped me look for her! Thank you Sandy, Debbie, Jodi, and Aly! Others were on their way, but since Sissy was not seen that day as of yet, I asked them not to come. They were going to drive around 100 miles just to help me look. I was very touched by this out pouring of care for one little Sissy. Debbie, aka The Parrot Lady, even put on a bird show in my driveway; she had her Greenling Macaw roller skating down my road. She had birds flipping around her finger, answering questions and posing for photos. It was really wonderful and brightened my day. People offered ideas, offered to climb trees, and helped me look for Sissy online just in case someone posted that they had found her.
My ad on Craigslist also brought “interesting” people to me. A few people claimed to have Sissy, when I would call them either the number would be wrong, or they would ask for money, or they would accuse me of trying to steal a bird. My ad on Craigslist kept getting deleted for some mysterious reason. I reposted it every day. Finding Sissy became my full time, 18 hour a day job. I felt like a detective. I lost weight from all of the walking and not eating. Thank you for that Sissy, I am in better shape now. LOL
Fast Forward to July 14. This also happens to be my son’s birthday. My boys have been out of town during this whole Sissy Saga and I just have to get her home before they come home!! On July 14 we walk to church looking in the trees as we go. My daughter, Morgan, and I get to sing together for worship leading, which I love, and blesses my soul. I say another prayer for Sissy asking God one more time to bring Sissy home safely.
We came home and began catching up on some neglected chores. I took a break to check the trees with my new binoculars and to check my emails. Another email had come in through Craigslist. This email said, “I have emailed you many times, I know who has your bird.” I thought, Oh great, here we go again. I replied, “I didn’t get your emails. Who do you think has my bird?” I then scroll down and see another email from the same person which says, “Please tell me distinctive things about your bird such as name, plucking, clipped, banded, sayings. The person who has your bird is selling them to someone in Medford, Oregon and she leaves next week!”
I got excited, I replied again. “I just saw this email, please call me!!! Phone number attached” She called, we spoke, I got an address. My daughter, my husband and I jumped in the car. It had to be Sissy. The plucked area was the same, the sayings were the same, her age was the same, and she liked a young boy in the house as her favorite human. It had to be her, yet these people live 25 miles away!
I was told that Sissy flew to Kohls Department store, which is a mile from my home and was sitting on the sign inside the letter O! A woman who lives in Tacoma had just finished shopping at Kohls and saw her. She called Sissy down using a bagel to tempt her. Sissy flew to her. The woman put her in her car and drove off. She didn’t report this to anyone. She was so happy that she got a free bird. She did tell her next door neighbor though. Her neighbor was under the impression that I had been alerted and that I had said that Sissy wasn’t mine. (Never happened).
We got to the residence where Sissy was possibly being held. The nice neighbor lady greeted us. She told the Sissy Finders that we were on our way a few seconds before our arrival. We knocked and got no response. We continued knocking. We went to the other door and knocked. We rang the doorbell, we knocked some more. I started calling out to Sissy. I yelled please talk to me about the bird. Please come to the door.
We walked around the home to the other door again. A man was at his car. The neighbor said, “That’s him! He has your bird.” I began talking to him. He accused us of pretending that we were Sissy’s owner. He said we were lying. I showed him a picture of my son holding her. It was framed with some of our other pets in the photo. I showed him my driver’s license. I showed him that I live near Kohls. I began telling him everything Sissy says. I spoke in her voice. He would not believe me. He slammed the door in my face.
I knocked and knocked some more. A woman came out and accused us of trying to steal an expensive bird. She said that she had already sold it. Then she said that if my daughter went in alone she could see the bird. My daughter began crying. The woman was trying to take her in the house. I said, “NO. My daughter is not going in there without an adult. We are trustworthy people. My husband, my daughter and I just want to see if you have our bird. We just want our bird back.”
The woman said, “If you give me 200$ first, I will let you come in!” I said, I would not give her any money unless she let me see my bird! I feared that she would take the money and slam the door again. Then I would be out money and a bird.
I told the woman that whatever they bought for the bird, I would buy from them and take with me, but I would like to see the receipts. At first she said she didn’t have any receipts. OY! My husband offered them some money. We still had not seen Sissy. We didn’t even know for sure if they had her.
People were intense with accusations and hostility. The neighbors were yelling at each other. Both men were in the military, and were saying things like you should be honorable and not deceitful. Other neighbors went in their homes, while yet others came out to watch. It was like a scene right out of a movie. Mind you the area we were in is known to be a tough area. I was prepared for anything. I was prepared to be punched in the face. I did not back down. We were not leaving. If anyone is going to act this upset after seeing a photo of Sissy, they must indeed have Sissy!
My husband offered money again, my daughter cried, I asked again, “Please let us see the bird”. They slammed the door and locked 3 locks. Click, click, click! I stood there in shock. I knocked on the door again. I said, “I am not going away. I would appreciate it if you would come outside and talk to me. If you do not, I will be forced to call the police. I don’t want to call the police, but I will if you do not come back outside to talk to us.” They did not come out. I called the police. The police were on their way.
I sat down on the steps feeling deflated. I held my head in my hands and said another prayer. Finally, the male came out. He was not happy that I had called the police. I told him that I would like to work everything out before the police get there. He orders the neighbors to leave or he won’t speak. My husband tells the neighbors that they can go. The neighbors go around the corner. They tell us that they will be nearby for us and will speak to the police when they arrive. After they walk out of view, the male tells us that the neighbors were trying to trick him, because they wanted Sissy for themselves.
In order to get Sissy back, we had to prove that we were the ones that had originally posted the Lost Bird Craigslist ad for Sissy. They asked us to delete a post of their choice. I had posted a ‘tree climber needed ad’. I had to delete that ad to prove that I wasn’t in on some scam with their neighbor. My husband and daughter helped me delete it by accessing Craigslist on my phone. By then, staring at my tiny phone was a bit much. I was in shock and frazzled. Together, the 3 of us did it. It took about 10 minutes for it to delete from Craigslist. They waited inside. We waited outside.
The couple opened the door and invited us in. I kind of just stood there and stared at them for a few seconds, not sure what was about to happen. We went in hesitantly. I saw Sissy, Sissy saw us and looked happy. The woman opened the cage and Sissy jumped on my finger. I hugged Sissy and handed her to my daughter. I then gave Sissy a cashew which she ate with enthusiasm.
The woman said that by Sissy’s response, she could tell it was my bird. Sissy had bitten everyone else who had tried to touch her with her sharp little beak. She had screamed a lot and had eaten very little. Thank you, Sissy, for being a pain to them; that is why they were trying to sell her!! That is why the neighbor got involved. Allegedly, the nice neighbor had tried to buy Sissy for $800. They wanted more than that for her. It allegedly started a disagreement of some kind. Sissy was scheduled to move to Medford, Oregon in a few days. She was being sold for a price unknown. We got there just in time.
By now, everyone in the house was acting congenial and cordial. We gave them $150, which is all we had with us. The woman gave us the items that she had bought. We took SISSY in her little carrier. I apologized for raising my voice. I think I may have looked a little scary for a minute there. LOL They apologized for their part. I guess they might have really thought that we were trying to steal Sissy.
With that said, they had been dishonest; I did not get one single email from them. They claimed to have sent me many emails. They claimed to have gone to all the pet stores near Kohls, which is also false. The pet stores near my house had not gotten any information. I also know that someone kept having my ad taken down. On Craigslist if you “flag” an ad, it automatically gets taken down. The woman may have done that. I also know that she told her neighbor that I had found my bird. (The nice neighbor wondered why my ad kept reappearing if I, indeed, had found my bird).
I never really learned the exact day Sissy was found. They say they had her for about a week. Some of the sightings in our neighborhood may have been other birds. Perhaps there is another Amazon loose in our neighborhood. It wouldn’t surprise me. Nothing will after this. I just know that I do, in fact, now have Sissy back after her 11 day adventure!!
After we left with Sissy, the police arrived. The helpful neighbors spoke to them. They had a great conversation from what I hear. This is her text to me,
“I’m very glad it ended up being your bird. I’m very sorry my neighbors are the way they are. I was in utter shock with the way they acted. The cop did show up, we ended up talking to him about the Marine Corps (he was retired). The neighbor came out of her house because she saw us talking with the police officer, she was very rude. The police officer asked her if she knew what extortion was and then told her to go back in her house. He said, If he wished to talk to her, he would come to her door. LOL She got what she deserved from the nice police officer. He also put their address and their names on a list. He called it unofficially “back yard breeders”, which I guess is a red flag to all officers dealing with animal issues with these individuals from here on their record. I don’t think they got a penalty, but a warning. If there’s ever an issue again they will have a penalty. Thank you and again, I’m very sorry for them and am ashamed for them. But, I’m glad you got your baby back “… “Mostly, I’m horrified that I live next to people like that…And your poor daughter was shaken up. Have a fabulous life and nice to have met and aided in the reuniting of family. Someone did it for me once <3 and pay it forward I always say!!!”
This gal sent me a few other texts too. I am very grateful to her for contacting me! (Apparently, some other neighbors heard and saw all of the commotion and were ready to storm the house. Support is always nice. LOL)
What a crazy end to a crazy adventure. Sissy is so happy to be home. She squealed with delight when she saw her Cockatoo boyfriend. The Eclectus squealed with delight when he saw her. They have a crazy love triangle. They each got their turn telling her how much they missed her. Sissy has been whistling her favorite song and she has been telling us all how pretty we all are. She is really happy to be home and is happy to be in her own cage. I will use the new cage that we bought from the hostage-holders as a back-up cage.
I am so thankful that my daughter and my husband went with me. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through that alone. My husband kept his cool and my daughter was a huge support. They both were so wonderful and supportive. I am thankful to have such caring, supportive family. I am also thankful to my son for posing for such an awesome photo that I just had to frame! It all worked together. I am thankful to God for his perfect timing. I am thankful that so many friends and neighbors were so supportive and helpful. This has been a difficult yet, heart-warming journey with a happy ending.
What I have learned during this Sissy Adventure, is that out of a 1000 people, approximately 994 are really wonderful and caring. The other 6 have issues. I have never met so many wonderful people in such a short period of time. Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me and cared about Sissy, my little green bird.
This story has a happy ending. Thank you all, for inspiring me to work so hard for Sissy’s return! I am so happy to have her home where she belongs!
Hugs to everyone,
Gina Johnson and Family (Ginagigie@yahoo.com)