Lost Bird Ohio Michigan Line Toledo Tilly Toes Small Parrot Little Senegal

Please contact immediately if you find or have found said lost bird Toledo Tilly Toes

Lost Bird, Senegal, robin or conure sized. Green Body, Yellow Vest, Grey Head, Hooked Beak, Short Tail, Yellow Eyes. Lost on September 12, 2008 at Burnham & Eleanor area in Toledo, Ohio. Hello. I think I really need your help. My family and I need someone to help us who can find or has found our lost bird, who is a small parrot, who was lost in Toledo, Ohio, and may be north, in Southeast Michigan. Please read all of this long winded story. There's a lot to tell. Tilly (seen to the right),is 2 years old, a senegal, a.k.a. "Toledo Tilly Toes" (a small parrot; robin sized, green with a yellow vest, hooked beak) is one of my two parrots, to go along with Margot Toukee, 4 years old, a jenday conure. They are the sweetest, most beautiful birds. They mean the world to me and my family, and, most importantly, to each other. Tilly left the day we moved from Thornton Avenue to Burnham Avenue in Toledo. That was Friday the twelfth of September. Tilly very well may be alive, either loose, as there are many documented cases of parrots surviving over the winter, such as in New York (Quakers) and San Francisco (Conures).

Now, it's all my fault. I'm spoiled on how good a bird can be, how trusting the best of birds can be... I should have had Tilly's wings clipped. You can see Tilly to the left, and that picture is a good comparison for determination of size - comparing Tilly to a tea cup size. I should have had her chipped and clipped. I know better now and if I get her back, which I believe I will, then she will never pull this again as I'll make certain it's impossible. Margot has had her wings clipped now because I can't risk losing her. We searched for three or four weeks and I went and clipped her wings for flying around and making me nervous. True, she'd always come back, but I did not think Tilly would leave.

Margot, a.k.a. "Margolis" is a genius as she understands everything I say and does what I say, and listens better than a kid. Everybody loves Margolis. She loves everyone back. If I wrote the dictionary the words "sweet" and "loving" would have her picture. have had her outside, countless times throughout her life, most especially, recently, and she always has flown back to me any time she has ever stretched her wings. Yes, I made the stupid mistake of trusting Tilly (seen to the right) and not having her wings clipped and keeping them clipped. I thought she was as smart and understanding and trustworthy as Margot; boy was I wrong. Margot is truly a one in a million. I just wanted Tilly to be as happy as Margot is. They're never caged, except at night. Tilly does what Margot does.

Typically there is a "one month, one mile rule" whereas the escaping bird will stay within a mile of their point of origin for a month, often longer. I have looked every day, twelve hours per day. I drive around with Margot, who calls for Tilly (seen to the left) every time I step out of our van. I have recording equipment I used to make discs of Margot screaming. Whenever she's quiet I just play that disc and call for her on every street around. Margot stays on my shoulder as I put up "lost signs" and talk to people. She's constantly looking around, calling for Tilly. My luck has been so bad. I've seen her only one time in these two weeks; four days ago at Coleman Trailer Park, off Lewis, outside the perimeter I thought she'd stay within. I saw her WAY up in the sky and knew it was her because of the yellow vest standing out on her green body. I screamed her name, Margot screamed a lot.
Tilly started to make a huge circle, which proves it was her as no other bird circles when you call some random name, because she was truly hearing us, and right over us, then she saw five hawks chasing her, turned back around in the direction she was originally going, then dove down into a field to hide. All five hawks immediately went back the other way and didn't follow her to the field behind the trailer park. They never even reduced their height. I know she didn't parish there and I feel she is alive still. If it is God's will I know I'll get her back.

Here's the biggest problem; nobody calls me when they hear her. (see Tilly to the right) They call the next day and say, "well I heard something odd".... By that time it's too late; she's gone. This morning, after the Larchmont School call, where I didn't find her, as she's afraid of kids, I got a call that she was seen in a tree at 813 Custer. The mother should have waited, kept talking to her until I got there, but she left to take her kids to school and by the time I got there Tilly had left. A little girl had her in her hands on Lowe Rd. behind the library on Sylvania. She had her in her hands for 30 minutes and watched her fly away from the porch. THEN she went in and told her mother who asked "why didn't you just come inside?"

Nobody is helping me. Everyone is well intended. I know that. They just never call when they hear anything odd. They all think they have to SEE her (see Tilly-to the left) or CAPTURE her. My signs say "DO NOT attempt to
capture. Locate, call phn. #. You will not see her. You will only hear her" and I tell everyone "just call me if you hear anything that doesn't sound native". People are, in general VERY, VERY GOOD.

Any time I grab the keys for any reason Margot (seen to the right) flies onto my shoulder.  All she wants to do is look for and find Tilly.  Today was the last day my business could afford me to simply take the day off looking for Tilly all day.  I have to get back to reality.  I will go every morning and every evening but I think the word is out as well   as I can possibly do it alone.  I will continue to follow up every lead.  I will continue to pray every moment.

She went Northwest first, then was spotted only west of Lewis, but within the past days she has been spotted east of Lewis, like she may be coming back toward us.  That's great.  It's just that nobody ever calls when they hear something.  They try to find her visually, then call the next day or hours later.  I need them to call immediately and not hesitate.  If she gets into Michigan, where there are probably, literally, a million more trees in Monroe county than in Lucas county there are very few signs I have put up there, beyond the northwest direction from our new house.  Maybe if some Michiganders read this then they might be able to help in that event.  If Toledoans see and hear a story maybe they could start calling immediately.  I'm offering a $100 reward.  All the good people say "I wouldn't want the money - just for you to have your bird back."   The kids all want the $100.  That's great.  I want my girl back worse than the $100.  I'd flush the $100 if it would bring her back.

I even told my wife "I feel God wants me to do something and I don't know what but it's something, as a result of this, a reason I have to help someone else, then he'll guide Tilly and I to one another".  There is a Sun Conure in the steeple at the church on Sylvania at Jackman.  It's been there four months.  Someone at In N Out was telling me about this.  I investigated it and it's true.  I knew the owner knew where their bird was and that the church will not let them get up there to look for and retrieve their bird; they won't let anyone from the
congregation or any outsider up into the steeple.  Period.  Today, I finally ran into a next door neighbor of the owner and told them "that bird can't survive the winter.  Their only hope is to get a COURT ORDER to get up in the steeple to retrieve their property."  I believe that will happen now.  They'll get their bird.  Then, this
evening, a guy called me and said "a bird fitting your bird's description is on the porch at the corner of Harris and Tremainsville" so I went over there.  It wasn't my bird.  It WAS an African Grey who said "hello" to me and wanted to go with me.  It WAS LOOSE on the porch, being guarded by a cat; who could believe it?!?!?  It's cage out back had the door broken off, hanging by one hook, the owners weren't home and the bird could have gone to anyone it trusted.  It trusted me.  I could have stole it.  I would never do that.  Someone else could have stolen it though.  I know THAT happens.  I got it to step up and took it to its cage and put it in and found a shoe on the porch.  I used its laces to tie the door shut to keep the bird in.  Now I just saved those people the heartache of what I'm going through.  Maybe that's why I went though all this.

Animals are the ultimate example of fellowship.  They do only what God put them here to do.  They deceive no one.  They are pure.  They are true.  They often prove to be more loyal than a majority of people.

This experience has dramatically changed me for the time being, and I fear I'll never be the same.  As strange as this sounds I have gotten over humans passing away easier; that's not insensitivity but the guilt over my role in this.  I should have been smarter, clipped her wings, at least had her inside at this NEW location.  I feel like an idiot.  Maybe you could help me to change those statements.  God Bless You.

Sincerely,

Chris Gossett

Every Creation Had A Creator

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