Repatriated parrot; Calgary couple readopts bird after sanctuary closes

Calgary couple reunited with pet parrot Three years after surrendering their pet parrots, the Bridgers and McCoy have been reunited. Jamie Mauracher reports.

Roughly three years after surrendering their beloved pet parrots to a refuge in British Columbia, Tracy and Don Bridger have been reunited with one of the birds.

The Bridgers made the difficult decision to relocate their pets to the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs, B.C. after they felt the birds were not receiving the attention they deserved.

“Don and I were both working and we were very busy,” said Tracy. “As bird people know, it is a lot of work and it’s really, really hard.”

In February, the founder of the World Parrot Refuge, Wendy Hundpatch, passed away and her widower struggled to make ends meet. With a lack of funding, care for the birds suffered.

The SPCA launched an investigation and the sanctuary was ordered to close its doors on August 1.

Volunteers are scrambling to find homes for the more than 600 exotic birds that had lived at the refuge.

The Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary, a non-profit organization, has taken over the task of re-homing the birds and has begun the process of contacting the previous owners of the pets.

Jam Robson of the Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary says it’s crucial for the incredibly smart birds to find permanent homes as they often outlive their owners.

On Saturday, the Bridgers and a now seven year old McCoy, a macaw were reunited. During his time in Coombs, McCoy befriended a bird named Buddy and the Bridgers say they are thrilled to accept Buddy into their home as well.

The Bridgers continue to wait for word on the other two birds they surrendered years ago. The couple hopes to be reunited with all three of their former pets along with Buddy.

“Three years ago we regretted doing it and now this is just a wonderful opportunity for us to reunite and just make it work,” said Tracy.

While Greyhaven continues to search for suitable homes for the birds, the City of Nanaimo has agreed to rent the sanctuary a temporary holding area.

Greyhaven hopes to have homes for all of the birds by December.

With files from CTV's Jamie Mauracher