A Braehead parrot has been grounded for good by her relieved owners after sparking a four-day search around the community.
Lauren Graham and partner Andrew - as well as the pair’s two young boys - were left distraught after African Grey Gizmo flew away from the family home in Abbot Road on Wednesday morning after her cage was opened to give her food and water.
The much-loved pet - who has been in the family for 17 years - disappeared after making a dash for it, prompting desperate calls to neighbours and the SSPCA in an effort to locate her.
Following heartfelt social media posts and further searches leading to no sightings, the pair had started to lose hope when they received a call on Saturday evening from a woman named Katie that they had found Gizmo perching in nearby Maurice Avenue.
After the call, the pair quickly scooted over to the address and coaxed Gizmo back down and eventually back into his cage at home.
Lauren admits it was a particularly lucky moment and thanked those in the community who had volunteered their time to help with the search efforts.
She said: “We’re all absolutely delighted and I don’t think we’ll ever be as lucky as that again.
“We had posted relentlessly since Wednesday and the lady from the Parrot Trust told us not to give up hope so we just kept posting to various community groups in the hope that someone might have seen Gizmo.
“It was just so overwhelming to see everyone’s kindness and generosity and people were out searching and asking us about sightings all the time which was fantastic.
“Andrew and I were out in Riverside on Saturday night and just as we pulled into the park, we got the phone call from Katie who said she thought she had found our parrot.
“We were only five to ten minutes away so we got in the car and when we got there, sure enough Gizmo was sitting in the tree like butter wouldn’t melt and within about five minutes she flew down and we managed to wrap her up in a jumper and get her home.
“The lady at the Parrot Trust told us it was common for parrots to hide and then come out a few days later but it was difficult as time was getting on with no sightings.
“It’s just absolutely surreal and I can’t thank everyone who helped enough, especially Katie and Michelle who helped get Gizmo back to us and also Rosalind at Archie’s Pet Shop who shared our posts - that’s Gizmo grounded now after all of this!”
