CHICAGO — A little more than two years ago, Anne Miedona watched in horror as a yellow-and-white cockatiel crashed into a brick building near her Dunning home.
Miedona rescued the bird — where it came from originally she doesn't know — after it hopped into a cloth bag that she grabbed from her car's trunk.
"I came home to my husband, Rich, and told him: 'You're not going to believe this, but God gave us a bird," Miedona said.
Since Sept. 27, though, Miedona has been heartbroken after the bird — named Birdie — escaped from its cage. Every day, Miedona has been going door to door to the homes near her house in the 3300 block of North Nordica Avenue. She's posted fliers all over, including at two neighborhood libraries.
"I haven't been able to sleep. I want her back. I want her back," she said. "I'm just devastated, and I'm determined to find her. I'm not going to give up."
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Miedona and her husband have five grown children, and Birdie had become like another kid to her, she said. Miedona trained Birdie to fly to and sit on her pointer finger. The bird, which is about as big as a fist and has orange cheeks, liked it when Miedona kissed her on the stomach, wing and head, too.
"She got so comfortable with us," Miedona said. "She was sheltered at home. We gave her everything she wanted. She had adapted to us so well."
Birdie escaped after Miedona took her in her 2½-foot-tall cage to the family's backyard for some fresh air. She left the bird in its cage on top of a patio table and tilted its umbrella to keep Birdie in the shade. But a gust of wind blew the umbrella, table and cage over, and the cage's top broke off. Birdie flew away.
"I'm the one who put her in harm's way, and I feel awful," she said.
Miedona said if you find the bird, you can call her at 773-307-5752.
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