UPDATED: Man steals parrot from Bedford pet store

BEDFORD, N.S. – Staff at the Pets Unlimited pet store in Bedford, N.S. are appealing for the return of a beloved parrot, which was stolen Monday night by at least two men.

“It’s stressful. I just want the bird back,” said staff member Jennifer Donaldson, holding back tears.

“He was a personable bird. He had his own vocabulary. He said ‘hello’, ‘peek-a-boo’, he’d roll over, he’d do tricks. He was an amazing bird.”

The two-year-old blue-fronted Amazon parrot, named Schooner, was taken around 7 p.m.

According to the Halifax Regional Police, one of the male suspects distracted staff members, while the other one walked away with Schooner on his arm.

Cst. Pierre Bourdages said the case is unusual.

“It’s an oddity and it’s also of great concern. As we know, it was very cold last night. So we hope whoever took that pet took good care of the pet to prevent any kind of injuries or death,” Bourdages said.

Staff at Pets Unlimited say the theft only took minutes to unfold.

“We had a prospective customer come in who’s been in multiple times before, who wanted to play with Schooner,” said Jim Harrison, district sales manager at Pets Unlimited.

The staff then took Schooner out of its cage, so the man could see the bird.

“What we believe is maybe one or two other people came in and started speaking with the other staff members who were in,” Harrison said. “And the gentleman who was with the bird ended up just clearly walking out the front of the store.”

Schooner was valued at over $2,000, however, the store says they are not concerned about the price tag. Staff say they are extremely concerned about the bird’s wellbeing.

“The biggest thing that worries us is that these are specialized pets. They’re exotic pets and the thing is, it takes a special family or a special individual to care for them,” Harrison said.

The parrot had an identification band on its leg. The pet store is asking anyone with information to call Halifax Regional Police or the Nova Scotia SPCA.

Pictures of the two suspects have been shared widely on social media.

The first suspect is described as a white male between the ages of 40-45, 5’8″, 200 lbs. with short grey hair, and he was wearing a light blue t-shirt and black vest.

The second suspect is described as a white male between the ages of 30-35, six feet tall, 200 lbs. with short brown hair and a full dark-brown bear, and he was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with “JUGGALO” written in red on the front, black jeans and white running shoes.

With files from Julia Wong