12 May 2006

Dubai: In a bizarre incident, the search for one lost pet bird has led to another.

Runaway African grey parrot Gary, who had been missing for two months was found last week in out-of-the-ordinary circumstances bringing a smile back to the faces of his owners, Abdul Ghani Sayed and his wife Tahira.

Ironically, the tip-off about Gary came from another petowner, Lesley Muncey, who had also lost her own parrot, called Mango, and had offered a Dh3,000 for her safe return.

Gulf News carried reports about the plight of Sayed and Lesley and their massive efforts to trace their missing pets.

Shortly after Lesley announced the cash reward, she was tipped off by an anonymous caller about an African grey parrot being held captive by a family in the Al Sha'ab area.

But since the bird's description didn't match Mango, Lesley thought it might well be Gary and alerted the Sayeds. As it turned out, the bird was indeed Gary.

"We thank our lucky stars. Gary is the darling of the house. These two months without him were terrible. Thankfully, they are over," said a visibly relieved Tahira, who's planning to distribute sweets in his Muraqqabat neighbourhood to celebrate the bird's homecoming. Similar views are expressed by Tahira's son Aftab.

"I was completely heart-broken. But now I have found happiness again."

"Gary's lost weight and looks sullen. I reckon it will take a few days before he's back to his usual chirpy self," said Tahira. "Gary is like a son, sure enough, the family is overjoyed to have him back. We missed him dearly and never stopped thinking about him all these days," she added.

Getting their 'prodigal son' back, however, was not easy for the Sayeds. When Abdul and Tahira went knocking at the Al Sha'ab villa, the woman who was holding Gary initially refused to hand the pet back. The negotiations ran into midnight. Eventually, Abdul had to pay an undisclosed amount to the woman to buy the bird back.

"Gary was delighted to see us. He recognised me instantly and started shouting "Mummy Mummy' when I took him out of the cage. I was overwhelmed and broke into tears," recalls Tahira, adding that she has no ill-feelings towards anyone. "Gary's back and in the end it's that what matters," she added.

By Mazhar Farooqui

Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.