Two lovebirds were rescued in Hope last weekend, separately, but so close together that the rescuers are sure they are a bonded pair.
The only problem is, one rescue happened without knowledge of the other. And one ended up on an adventure all the way to Victoria, while the other remains in Hope.
Both of the women who rescued the lovebirds are hoping to track down the rightful owners.
Shelley Kohlmann contacted Black Press first thing Monday morning, in hopes of connecting with the owner. At the time she figured the lovebird she found — a gently coloured white and yellow little thing with dabs of blue and green that look like they’ve been dropped from a watercolour brush — had flown out a window in Hope.
She was travelling through the town on Saturday (July 16) n her way home, which is Victoria, when she stopped at the Save-On Foods on Old Hope Princeton Way.
“There was this lost lovebird flying all over and it landed on me,” she said over the phone. “It didn’t want to leave me, and I didn’t want to leave it there. I didn’t know what to do, so I brought it home.”
Kohlmann felt she didn’t have a choice.
“It was running around on the ground and nobody wanted to take it home with them,” she said.
That’s how the bird got to Victoria, on this summer adventure.
Kohlmann isn’t a bird owner, so it meant a trip to the pet store to outfit the sweet little bird with a temporary home and some food.
It’s been staying close to Kohlmann, following her around the house when not in the cage.
“The poor thing was just flying around the house, so I got him a cage and food,” she said. “He needs to be kept safe if I’m going to take care of him.”
But she really is hoping it’s a temporary housing situation, and that the actual owners will connect with her. While there is some distance and a ferry ride between them, she’s hopeful it will all work out.
She was also worried that this lost lovebird also had a frantic partner waiting for it somewhere.
“Hopefully someone will see a story and then we can figure out how to get him home,” she had said. “He’s beautiful.”
Well, Christal Zerr in Hope saw the story almost immediately. And she’s also become the emergency caregiver of a lovebird that was rescued in Hope.
The women are positive this must be a bonded pair.
Zerr’s daughter was working at the A&W on Old Hope Princeton Way when a lovebird flew into the restaurant. That one is green with a bright red head. It was able to be caught, but a second one that was also spotted was not. That was on Friday, July 15.
So by the time Kohlmann came to Hope the next day, the second lovebird had spent a full night on its own. It’s no wonder then, it wouldn’t leave her alone.
Zerr has put out the message on some local Facebook groups, and someone had mentioned they saw a truck pulling a boat, and the truck had bird cage in it.
It’s a mystery at this point whether the lovebirds were intentionally dumped — many pets are being abandoned as housing gets harder for people to find. But they are hoping that they are able to reunite the birds with the proper owner, and each other, very soon.
Kohlmann can be reached at 250-480-9481.
READ MORE: Post-flood mosquito outbreak a problem for Hope residents
@CHWKcommunity
jessica.peters@abbynews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.
A lovebird who was picked up in Hope and is now in Victoria. The woman who has it is hoping to connect with the owner. (Shelley Kohlmann photo)
A lovebird from Hope is temporarily sheltering in Victoria after being found by a traveller on Saturday, July 16. She’s hoping the real owner will connect with her so they can plan the bird’s safe return home. (Shelley Kohlmann photo)
