Furry students care for lost bird

PERKINS TWP. — Furry Elementary students were rewarded for rescuing a lost pet bird. On Thursday, students in Megen Kania's second-grade class found the bird, a cockatiel, on the playground unharmed. Principal Jennifer Yost said she and superintendent Todd Boggs had a meeting at the school and assisted students with catching the bird. After the bird — who goes by "Muffie" and "Tweety" — was safely recovered in a box, Yost ran to Pet Supplies Plus for bird food. Students brainstormed ways to care for it. To find the owner, school resource Officer Tonya Corbin, who works for Perkins police, made a post on the department's social network page about the lost bird while Detective Joe Rotuno found a cage at his home for the bird to use. Luckily, by the end of the school day, the owner contacted Perkins police and retrieved the bird. The bird escaped from a residence on West Perkins Avenue, a few miles from Furry Elementary about four days prior to being found. "It was as content as can be," Yost said. "The owner was super grateful." Impressed with students' concern for the bird, Perkins police purchased two parakeets — "Snowball" and "Chirpy" — for the second-grade class and stopped by Friday to present them. Jennifer Herron, general manager of Sandusky's Petco store, brought food and educated students on the birds' care. The lost bird's owner, Jean Krebs, also stopped by the classroom Friday. "I'm so proud of them," Yost said of the students. "They knew the bird needed help and they had plans in place to keep it happy and healthy. They were thankful to see the owner and knew it was the right thing to do. They're great kiddos." Yost credited Kania for "stopping everything" during the school day for the lost bird. For now, the new class pets will stay in Kania's classroom but may appear in the school's front lobby soon. "You can just tell it's something they'll remember for a very long time, so it's fun when we can have those moments for the kids," Yost said. Corbin said the lost bird saga was one of the most interesting incidents in her career. "This was a good learning tool for the kids and to bring them together — they're excited to take care of (the class birds)," she said. Krebs, and family member, Ronald, were relieved the bird was found. "He was so happy that the children from Furry Elementary School rescued his pet cockatiel on the playground," Jean said of Ronald. "After a four-day and more than 3-mile adventure, she was really glad to be home with him. He said it was just way too quiet without her." Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood