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‘Cuddles’ the Parrot Rescued from Tree by Holly Fire Dept
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 30, 2020)
Holly, MI – An escaped parrot named Cuddles is back home safe with her owner after Village of Holly firefighters were able to rescue the exotic bird from a tree on Monday.
Dispatch received a non-emergency call from Green Parrot Superstore about a yellow parrot that had gotten away from its human, even though it was on a leash. The bird did what birds do, flying up and claiming a scenic spot high up in a neighborhood tree.
Without any fires or other emergencies, the fire department was able to send help.  Probationary firefighter Calvin Curtis took the lead, volunteering to go up in the bucket of the ladder truck to try and bring Cuddles back safely without scaring it further off.
Though he had no prior experience with birds, he approached the situation with the right amount to care.
“We used our ladder truck to slowly approach the bird and Calvin mentioned that he was able to grab the birds leash before it flew away,” said Fire Chief Steve McGee. “The bird made an awful racket of screaming as it tried to get away and even had the audacity to laugh at us as well!”
“Words cannot express how thankful I am to all of you,” the owner wrote on Facebook, “Cuddles is in her cage sound to sleep. I will never take my hand off her leash again!”
Green Parrot Superstore posted that they recommend bird-keepers clip parrots wings in the springtime, even when they use a harness.