Just a Mo..she's back

Comments | Sunday Mirror, Jan 11, 2004 | by DEIRDRE O'DONOVAN

MEET Miracle Mo, the African Grey parrot who found her way home thanks to the Irish Sunday Mirror.

Last week we revealed how the EUR1,000 bird was handed in to Gardai after being found outside Crumlin Shopping Centre in Dublin.

Well Mo is now back home where she belongs with her owner Rachel Stewart, 13, and her best friend Buttons the dog.

Mo disappeared last Friday, the day before Rachel's dad Joe died - and mum Linda believes his spirit helped bring Mo home.

She said: "Last Friday morning I came down to let Buttons out.

"As I opened the patio door, Mo opened her own cage and flew out with Buttons.

"They are best friends and get on really well together.

"It wasn't until much later that day I noticed Mo's cage was empty and we started searching frantically for her."

Linda said: "Rachael had told her dad that Mo was missing and everyone was looking for her.

"We had called the DSPCA and everyone we could think of to try and find her."

Then, while the family was coming to terms with the loss of Joe, a family friend spotted the Irish Sunday Mirror article and finally they were able to bring Mo home.

Linda said: "We got in touch with the zoo and went to collect her.

"We are thrilled to have her home, and I believe that Joe helped bring Mo home. Thanks a million to everyone who helped find Mo.

"We were so desperate to find Mo, we even contacted Martin King on TV3 to see if he could put out an appeal for information for her.

"She is a wonderful pet, and has over 100 words. She can even call Buttons the dog!"

African Grey parrots are sometimes known as the cadillac of parrots and the perfect mix of beauty and brains.

They are brilliant mimics and can imitate human voices and other sounds, including mobile phone ringtones and chainsaws.

One such parrot, known as Pruddle, had acquired a vocabulary of 1,000 words by the age of 19 and a European study estimated the intellectual capacity of a typical African Grey as equivalent to a five-year-old child.