Crumbs, Cookie's Glad To See Michael
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday December 15, 1998
The loud, lost corella parrot featured in Short Rounds recently was reunited with its owner last night.
Oak Flats apprentice electrician Michael Williams was one of two people who claimed Cookie from the Cannon and Ball veterinary clinic.
Michael's superior handling skills and the stream of welcoming chatter spewed forth by the bird when it saw him was all the proof the vet staff needed.
With a spring in their step and barely disguised smiles of glee, staff members handed over the deafening creature that has made their lives a misery for more than a week.
While Michael could not say that he loved his short-billed corella, he said he was glad to have him back.
``He's pretty noisy and a bit of a pain and he doesn't like anything much but when he sat on my shoulder again it was really nice."
Michael said Cookie - who perplexed vet staff by constantly screeching ``Lemme out" and ``I want to get out" - preferred the great outdoors to cramped cages.
Cookie was taking a stroll around Michael's backyard on November 27 when he was startled by a man with sunglasses. ``He took one look and took off."
Cookie, who has won hearts in the Illawarra, has one more battle to win. He must convince Michael's parents, who enjoyed the sweet silence of the bird's absence, to keep him on as a boarder.
© 1998 Illawarra Mercury