ON March 31, our African Grey, “Rio”, flew away from our house in Brackenhurst, after getting a fright.
After two sleepless nights and frantically distributing flyers in the neighbourhood and at the local shopping centres, I received a call on Saturday morning, April 2, from a Zelda, to inform us that Rio was found at the Total Service Station (behind the Checkers complex at Bracken Gardens).
Needless to say, friends and family were scouting the area looking for Rio, constantly knocking on strangers’ doors just to have a peek in their yards to see if Rio was there.
It was like a death in the family and I am sure other people with the loss of a beloved pet, a member of the family, understand the pain and emptiness that one goes through in a situation like this.
So it was with great expectation that we went to the Total Service Station hoping to find Rio there.
We met with Shawn van Zyl of Morris Motors, thinking we were going to be reunited with our beloved Rio. When we arrived we were told that the person who found Rio took our bird with him, as Rio by now would have been hungry and looking for food and water.
This is where I want to give thanks and praise to Shawn, because from this moment on, he assisted us in recovering him.
He absolutely went out of his way to help us as we, at some stage, had difficulty getting Rio back. Shawn was very helpful and kept reassuring us that he would make every effort to assist us in getting Rio back.
Not only did we get Rio back, we met a wonderful, kind and caring person, Shawn van Zyl – Our Good Samaritan.
Even though he did not know who we were, he nevertheless made a commitment to help us. He definitely has a heart of gold; for that we are very, very grateful.
Therefore, Shawn, we would like to thank you with all our hearts for you being there and helping us. We would also like to thank Shawn’s father and Zelda for their assistance, as well.
Our faith in the goodness of mankind has been restored.
Many, many thanks to you.
Happy and grateful owners,
Mari Barends.
