Man’s Parrot Found Wandering in IKEA Parking Lot 9 Years After Going Missing in Brutal Home Robbery

A man in the U.K. was reunited with his parrot nine years after the bird went missing during a brutal home robbery.

Robert Mortimer lived in Bradford, West Yorkshire, back in August of 2017 when his home was robbed. At the time, the burglars, who remain at large, snatched his laptop, gardening equipment and, police believed, his beloved parrot Barney, according to a report from Daily Mail. During the robbery, his family’s pet chihuahua was also fatally injured.

He called local vets looking for his parrot and posted signs offering a reward, but the trail eventually went cold and Mortimer, 56, simply believed his pet had died. However, nine years later, he got a call informing him that Barney had been found wandering the parking lot of a local IKEA just 20 miles away from his old home.

The outlet reports that staff at an animal rescue center were able to use the microchip that was implanted in Barney to positively ID him as the bird that went missing all those years ago. However, the phone number associated with Mortimer had since been changed, along with his address. Luckily, staff and a police officer were able to track Mortimer down by searching the web for clues.

“[The police officer] called me up and said ‘Your parrot’s been found,’” he told the outlet. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I gave him up for dead a long time ago.”

Before going to pick him up, Mortimer retrieved Barney’s old cage from a family friend. According to him, he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of it or get another bird in the ensuing years following the robbery.

Since bringing him home, Mortimer says Barney is beginning to show signs that he recognizes his owner and the family. “It’s just brilliant to have him back, it’s still sinking in that I’ve finally got my Barney again,” he added.