Parrot takes up residence in shelter after crashing into Rowan home

Published 12:03 am Thursday, June 29, 2017

SALISBURY — There’s more than dogs and cats at the Rowan County Animal Shelter this week.

The latest addition is a male eclectus parrot. It found its way to the shelter after dropping in on Carolyn and Jeff Barger’s dinner on Wednesday.

Now, the Animal Shelter hopes to find the bird’s owner.

The parrot goes by the name Enzo, but that’s a name given by shelter staff. Animal Services Director Bob Pendergrass said the owner may call the parrot by a different name.

Carolyn Barger, clerk to the Rowan County commissioners, and Jeff Barger, Rowan County clerk of Superior Court, spotted the bird Tuesday evening while sitting down to dinner at their home in the Miller Road area.

Carolyn Barger said she and her husband were eating pork chops and watching the news when they were interrupted by a loud crash. The parrot flew into the Bargers’ glass storm door.

“We do not know what to do with a parrot,” she said. “We have never owned a bird.”

They called Pendergrass to get advice about how to handle the parrot. He advised using a cardboard box to cover the parrot. Carolyn Barger poked some holes in a box and tried tapping it at first to show the parrot what to do. It didn’t work. So she carefully placed the cardboard box over the parrot.

When Pendergrass arrived, he slid a lid under the box to secure the bird, Barger said. Pendergrass said the bird’s owner has three business days to claim the bird before it’s eligible to be adopted. The period of three business days ends Friday, meaning the bird will be eligible for adoption on Monday.

Pendergrass said it’s clear the parrot is someone’s pet. He said it’s likely the bird’s home is near the Bargers’ residence in southwestern Rowan County. But it’s also possible the parrot traveled a longer distance.

To claim the bird, Pendergrass said, the owner should come to the shelter with proof of ownership, which could be a picture of the person with the bird.

Enzo the parrot isn’t the first bird that has found its way into the Rowan County Animal Shelter, but birds are not the most common tenants. In 2016, for example, the Animal Shelter saw four chickens, one cockatiel, two ducks, one pigeon, one sparrow, one starling, two owls and one vulture. Those numbers compare to more than 2,500 cats and more than 2,000 dogs.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.