Yes, miracles DO happen, and here’s proof. Kelly found her beloved Nova!!

So, you’re probably wondering how this could possibly happen. What follows is the story of the incredible series of events that led to Nova’s return home.

First, we printed a few flyers and stapled them to telephone poles in our neighborhood. Kelly has been aware of the Mickaboo Bird Rescue web site for years, so she posted our flyer there as well as on a Bay Area Birds site. It turns out that postings to these sites are replicated on the lost and found section on Craig’s list.

This led to a phone call from a woman in nearby Alameda who said that she had found a cockatiel matching the description. Of course we rushed to her home, but unfortunately the bird she had found was not Nova. The trip was not a total waste because it generated a new lead. We learned that our Alameda friend had met a man who had seen another bird in Oakland that might fit the description. Our Alameda contact gave Kelly the name of the guy who we hoped had seen our Nova. Kelly called him, and found that he had in fact seen a bird matching Nova’s description. Unfortunately, he had neither a name or a phone number of the person who might have our bird, but he did have an address. Enter Mapquest.

Kelly printed a map to the house about 2.3 miles (as the cockatiel flies) from our loft. Neither of us imagined that our little bird with trimmed wings could possibly have flown this far, but Kelly was certainly going to check into it. She drove to the house and found no one home. However, she did notice a name on an envelope in the mailbox. Enter Google.

A Google search on the rather unique name immediately produced an email address and work phone number.

Kelly fired off an e-mail and learned from her new friend that she was sure she had our bird. She was definitely more convinced of this than we were. Kelly tried not too allow herself to become too hopeful – especially when she learned that the woman’s mother had been smitten by the bird and had already moved her 50 miles away. Nevertheless, exactly one week after Nova fell out the window, Kelly learned the story of how Nova was found underneath a tomato plant by a pit bull mix about a day after she left our loft. It took Kelly about one second to recognize her old friend.

We are still stunned by our incredible good luck and the kindness of a few complete strangers. Our heartfelt thanks to Jeri and her dog who helped bring our wandering bird back home. We are deeply indebted to you, and to your mother who even bought a cage for our princess during her brief stay. Thank you so very, very much!