Another Parrot on the Loose: From Former Scarsdale Mayor Noreen Fisher

(This letter was submitted by former Scarsdale Mayor Noreen Fisher after she read last week's police report about a parrot in a home on Dolma Road.)

I can not believe it….Almost 30 years ago my daughter had the misfortune, while playing with friends outside our home on Taunton, of having a PARROT land on her shoulder….she was 8…it did not go over well. I could hear the screaming from the kitchen.

I called our gallant protectors, the SPD, and the officer on the phone laughed at me. Funniest thing he had heard all day. He said they only had a noose for dogs and similar mammals and I should call a trapper. I was, at this point, looking at this big parrot on a bush looking into my side office windows and knew no one was going to venture outside until this parrot was captured.

I called Parrot Jungle on Central Avenue and they insisted it must be a parakeet. They suggested I capture it with a towel, bring it in a picnic basket to them and they would take care of it.

I prepared for battle, putting on a winter coat with hood up and protecting my head (it was Aug) , grabbed a big towel and went out. The bird was obviously a pet…and consented to being put in a basket.

When Parrot Jungle saw the bird they were amazed. Said it was worth over $300 (back then)…and did I want it…Ha ha…no..I donated the parrot to them and wished them all well.

How times have changed…now parrot capturing is a SPD service. Kudos to our intrepid trappers.

Noreen Fisher
Former Mayor