A missing Picasso has been returned to a St. John's family. (Oh, Picasso is a bird)
Cockatiel takes advantage of an open door to escape and … take in an English class at Gonzaga High School
A missing bird named Picasso has been returned safely to the Davis family after spending an evening on the lam earlier this week.
Picasso, a seven-month-old cockatiel, escaped his St. John's home Monday night while the Davises were preparing dinner. A door left open for a brief moment was all that was needed for the fluffy bird to hit the road — or, well, the sky — Kelly Davis told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.
"He was just shocked by the cold and the dark and he took off. It happened so quickly," she said.
Davis said the family and their neighbours spent the evening roaming the neighbourhood, whistling in hopes of a response in search of their beloved pet.
He didn't turn up.
"We were worried sick. We were trying to remain hopeful," said Davis.
"I just thought, 'Oh my God, how is this little bird going to survive the night?' It was raining, it was cold and we were up all night just bawling our eyes out."
Around midnight the search was called off. Plans were arranged to pick up the search at dawn when traffic noise would be at a minimum.
Davis said it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
He went where?
The family then turned to social media for help. Davis said she made posts in local birdwatching groups, and contacted the SPCA, the City of St. John's and friends. They also put up posters in their neighbourhood.
"It was quite a mobilization in only a couple of hours," she said.
Around noon Tuesday, while plastering up posters for the missing Picasso, Davis got a call from Gonzaga High School, about a kilometre away from her home.
We had an inquisitive visitor this morning. Is anyone in the neighbourhood missing their pet cockatiel? He flew into one of our classrooms this morning to brush up on his English skills. I think he’s missing his family. Please call the school at 753-7510 to retrieve him. <a href="https://t.co/LvrOc1CQHf">pic.twitter.com/LvrOc1CQHf</a>
—@GonzagaVikings"He had basically flown into a classroom, with a class in session, on the upper floor," Davis said, laughing. "Clearly getting a higher education."
Davis said Picasso was well taken care of by the school, and was placed carefully inside a milk crate to wait to go home.
But finding Picasso meant so much more to Luisa Davis, the nine-year-old owner of the bird she got for her birthday after doing months of research and asking for a cockatiel specifically.
"He's my everything. I love him," she said.
"It kind of feels like a miracle. He's kind of acting like nothing happened."
With files from The St. John's Morning Show