3 beloved birds stuffed in backpacks, stolen during break-in at pet supply store in Capistrano Beach

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Thursday, December 22, 2022
3 birds stolen during break-in at Orange County pet supply store
3 birds stolen during break-in at Orange County pet supply storeA pet store owner in Orange County is devastated after three birds, beloved family pets, were stolen. She is now pleading for their return.

CAPISTRANO BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A pet store owner in Orange County is devastated after three birds, beloved family pets, were stolen. She is now pleading for their return.

The Feed Barn, a local pet supply store in Capistrano Beach, was broken into Monday night.

Surveillance cameras captured images of two people wearing hoodies and face masks breaking the glass to the store's front store.

They went right for the store owner's prized pet birds, snatching them from their individual cages and shoving them into backpacks.

"I came rushing down still in my pajamas and all three of our birds were stolen. They were gone," said Michelle Martin, the owner of the birds.

The birds have been a fixture at the store for years. Customers often talk to the birds, take pictures and post them to social media.

One of the birds that was stolen is Baby Love, a 22-year-old umbrella cockatoo.

"Baby, especially, just loves it here. He has so much fun interacting with all the customers and talking and being a goofball - because he's a cockatoo," she said.

Cody is a 37-year-old double yellow-headed amazon parrot and hangs out with one of the store's cats. Sweetie is a 35-year-old Congo African grey with an impressive vocabulary.

"Sweetie is the most vocal. He will whistle 'The Bridge on the River Kwai,' he'll do 'The Addams Family' song, he does a really good imitation of a trash truck." Martin said.

"When the phone rings, he'll answer the phone in two different voices - in a man's voice and women's voice. So, he's got a pretty big vocabulary."

She said Baby appeared to put up a fight as there were white feathers all over the floor when she got to the store.

Martin says the sudden loss of her beloved pets is just so upsetting and she wants them back.

"It's the backpacks that really does it for me. Not only that they broke into my store, but that they shoved them in backpacks... It's just awful."

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