TOTOWA, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Three parakeets that were stolen from a New Jersey pet store over the weekend have been returned, according to the store owner.
In a Facebook post, the owner of the Paterson Bird Store in Totowa said the three birds – two Rosy Bourke Parakeets and an American Dilute Conure – were returned to the shop on Thursday by the same individual who took them.
The birds were stolen from the store on Saturday by a woman, man and child who entered the store with a leashed boxer and an orange tabby cat.
“They used the son, who's 7 or 8 years old — he used him as a lookout while he's grabbing the birds. It's really very sad,” the store owner told WNBC-TV on Thursday.
Surveillance video in the store captured the man stealing the three birds, which are collectively worth nearly $6,000.
A store employee told WNBC that the same man was captured on video, five days later, carrying a covered cage to the store, opening the front door and placing the cage inside.
The news organization reports an apology letter was attached, asking for forgiveness and that the store owner not include the woman and child in the ordeal.
On Facebook, the store owner noted that they were thrilled to have the birds retuned to them, but that they would “require a lot of TLC as they are very skinny.”
The shop previously noted that the three parakeets were extremely young, and one was on a special formula as it was still being hand fed.
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