Escaped Tennessee parrot turns up safe in NY

updated 7:35 a.m. ET Oct. 12, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — A woman's pet parrot that flew away from her in Johnson City turned up hundreds of miles away in Long Island, N.Y., despite being a weak flyer.

Kim Kendrick lost her 47-year-old Amazon parrot, Buzzy, nearly two months ago while walking with him outside. But she got an unexpected phone call Tuesday from a New Yorker named Josh Ruderman, who said he had found Buzzy.

"When I heard he was in New York I was skeptical at first," Kendrick said. "But then I talked with Buzzy on the phone and Josh sent me photos and it's no doubt that it's him."

The bird didn't fly to New York. Ruderman had been visiting East Tennessee for two months and found Buzzy in Johnson City four days after Kendrick lost him on Aug. 14.

Ruderman said he searched the papers during the last three weeks of his visit, but could not find Buzzy's owner. So Ruderman took him home to Long Island.

Ruderman finally found Buzzy's grateful owner after reading a Sept. 20 article in the Johnson City Press about the missing parrot and e-mailed her Tuesday.

"It really is nice when a story comes together with a happy ending, but for me I will miss Buzzy very much," Ruderman said.

Kendrick said she planned to drive up from Tennessee to Long Island next week to pick up Buzzy.

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