By NICOLE VALICEK
FROM the moment cockatiels Bonni and Clyde met they were inseparable.
That’s why owner Sandi Maryanne Kozole refused to give up when Bonni flew away from her hand after she was spooked by her father’s Electus parrot.
The former resident moved to Queensland 10 years ago and was visiting her sick mother in Altona Meadows when the unthinkable happened.
Ms Kozole hand-reared the cockatiels from six weeks old and has had them for the past eight years.
“I wasn’t going to stop until I found her,” she said.
“I can’t imagine them (Bonni and Clyde) not being together.”
Bonni flew away six days after Ms Kozole arrived in Melbourne on August 22, and thanks to her perseverance and the assist of the community she was reclaimed last week.
“I still don’t believe myself that I got her back.”
The bird was missing for nine weeks and four days with her owner spending every day pursuing her rescue efforts.
From the day Bonni flew off until the day she was found, Ms Konzole was out every day dropping letters and delivering them to 2500 homes around Altona.
“I think I’ve walked from here to Queensland three times over how much I’ve done,” she said.
Bonni was found exhausted in the garden of a a Williamstown resident last week and was taken to the vet.
The bird was kept with a carer before another woman saw a vet advertisement online and matched it with a missing poster at the local skate park.
The reunion was emotional to say the least.
“These two guys are my family. It’s just us three. They’re my babies,” Ms Konzole said.
She said had received 175 calls from people who had spotted her and was overwhelmed by the response from the public.
Bonni is on her way to a full recovery after her adventure and now happily back with Clyde.
