linda040899
10-19-2006, 06:07 PM
Crossposted with permission from Bird_Breeder-Hobbyist:
MANTUA TOWNSHIP Flower is an inglorious name for a tough, no nonsense, drug-sniffing police parrot from New York.
Flower fell on black days, when dust filled his lungs and dirtied his feathers during the 9/11 attacks. He waited for four days without food or water for his policeman caretaker to rescue him.
The policeman never returned. He was killed as a result of the attacks.
Flower must have felt the embarrassment when his long beautiful tail feathers were clipped so he could fit into a cat carrier when
he was moved from his apartment near New York City's Twin Towers.
"Isn't it ironic, you have a big policeman with a big bird and named him Flower?," said Melanie Miracle of Mantua Township, his new owner.
Flower is a true police parrot. He has a computer chip embedded under his skin which, when scanned, identifies the bird as the property of the New York City Police Department. Miracle said she has papers proving the parrot now belongs to her.
Flowers glory days were before 9/11 when he reigned as the mascot of a New York City police precinct.
As a trained drug parrot, his duties were to go to schools and show off by finding narcotics. Drugs were put in canisters and socks and hidden in the classrooms. Flower would go to the drugs and peck their containers.
He was used to teach students about drugs in a nice way. The officer would bring Flower into high schools, hide drugs in the room and Flower would find them. The bird was used because he is colorful and he talks. Flower attracted attention.
"He can say, 'Get the burglar'," Miracle said.
Miracle, who was living in New York at the time, said she rescued wayward parrots.
"A lady told me I should go into the building and get the animals. The policeman's sister said I should keep Flower," she said.
However the sister wants the parrot when Miracle dies. Miracle agreed and put it in her will.
The tail feathers grew back and Flower once again is a long-tailed parrot. He is colored red, blue, yellow, and green. He is very beautiful.
But Miracle said the bird is too fat to fly.
His duties have changed from hunting drugs to being a guard parrot.
Miracle said if a repairman comes to her house, Flower will protect her. He stands at her feet ready for action.
He is not normal. He knows how to brush his beak. He holds the tooth brush in his claws and brushes. He can say prayers. He bends his head down and makes the sign of the cross, Miracle said.
Flower was blessed recently by Rev. Michael Balash at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mantua along with many other pets.
"I think Flower needed to be blessed for everything he went through and what he is going through. He could have died," Miracle said.
http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/260035
MANTUA TOWNSHIP Flower is an inglorious name for a tough, no nonsense, drug-sniffing police parrot from New York.
Flower fell on black days, when dust filled his lungs and dirtied his feathers during the 9/11 attacks. He waited for four days without food or water for his policeman caretaker to rescue him.
The policeman never returned. He was killed as a result of the attacks.
Flower must have felt the embarrassment when his long beautiful tail feathers were clipped so he could fit into a cat carrier when
he was moved from his apartment near New York City's Twin Towers.
"Isn't it ironic, you have a big policeman with a big bird and named him Flower?," said Melanie Miracle of Mantua Township, his new owner.
Flower is a true police parrot. He has a computer chip embedded under his skin which, when scanned, identifies the bird as the property of the New York City Police Department. Miracle said she has papers proving the parrot now belongs to her.
Flowers glory days were before 9/11 when he reigned as the mascot of a New York City police precinct.
As a trained drug parrot, his duties were to go to schools and show off by finding narcotics. Drugs were put in canisters and socks and hidden in the classrooms. Flower would go to the drugs and peck their containers.
He was used to teach students about drugs in a nice way. The officer would bring Flower into high schools, hide drugs in the room and Flower would find them. The bird was used because he is colorful and he talks. Flower attracted attention.
"He can say, 'Get the burglar'," Miracle said.
Miracle, who was living in New York at the time, said she rescued wayward parrots.
"A lady told me I should go into the building and get the animals. The policeman's sister said I should keep Flower," she said.
However the sister wants the parrot when Miracle dies. Miracle agreed and put it in her will.
The tail feathers grew back and Flower once again is a long-tailed parrot. He is colored red, blue, yellow, and green. He is very beautiful.
But Miracle said the bird is too fat to fly.
His duties have changed from hunting drugs to being a guard parrot.
Miracle said if a repairman comes to her house, Flower will protect her. He stands at her feet ready for action.
He is not normal. He knows how to brush his beak. He holds the tooth brush in his claws and brushes. He can say prayers. He bends his head down and makes the sign of the cross, Miracle said.
Flower was blessed recently by Rev. Michael Balash at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mantua along with many other pets.
"I think Flower needed to be blessed for everything he went through and what he is going through. He could have died," Miracle said.
http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/260035