Aero, an African grey service parrot, who disappeared during a third birthday outing to see the Space Shuttle fuel tank was reunited with his owners on Thursday, after 22 hours getting a bird's-eye view in Marina del Rey.
Deven and Bree Chierighino were ecstatic when a man named Joe called them after the couple made fliers seeking the bird, measuring 12-15 inches from head to tail, also goes by the name Dr. Aero Aileron Heisenbird and has a twitter account.
"We got him back," said Deven. "It's a pretty amazing story."
The bird is Bree's best buddy. He helps her after she had a work accident and had to have spinal surgery.
"We have our best friend back, our little guy who helps me everyday," said Bree, choking up. "I can't even tell you how blessed I am."
The bird flew the coop when it got spooked while watching the shuttle fuel tank.
NBC4 photographer Sean Browning got to snap photos with the bird when it dropped by the news van around 10 p.m. Wednesday before it got spooked again and flew away.
News
Top news of the day
A man named Joe found the bird near a Bank of America in Marina del Rey sitting on a roof of a car and called the number on the flier.
The Chierighinos were feeding Aero in a Petco parking lot on Thursday in Marina del Rey before the long drive home to Santa Clarita where their feathered friend will get his birthday presents.
