Article leads to chirpy reunion
While the van der Merwes made peace with the fact that their beloved cockatiel had died, Barbie was in fact living in the lap of luxury.
The City Times last week published an article on two brothers’ desperate search for the bird, after she disappeared from their Farrarmere home on March 28.
The search came to an end on the evening of April 9, when an Atlasville resident called Anton van der Merwe (42) to tell him she has Barbie at her Atlasville residence.
Since Barbie’s disappearance, brothers Anton and Chris (31), and their parents have gone to extreme measures to locate their feathered friend.
READ : Tears for missing feathered friend
They burnt a recording of the bird’s chirp on a CD and played it at home and in their vehicle, in the hope of luring her to them.
They also visited the Benoni SPCA twice a day, printed six A4 signs with a picture of the bird – which were posted around Farrarmere – and published her photos on Facebook and two missing-animal websites.
Chris’ hopes of finding Barbie were dashed on Friday when they received word that a cockatiel had died – presumably from exhaustion – that was taken to a veterinarian on O’Reilly Merry Street on March 29.
Chris thought it was Barbie as the bird had died a day after his had disappeared.
The roller coaster of emotions ended on April 9, when Anton received a phone call at 6pm from Atlasville resident Kaska Pokojska, who immediately knew she had Barbie, or Maya, as she renamed her.
The woman’s friend, Junita Leppan, found Barbie on March 29 in her Venus Street garden.
Barbie was taken to Kaska the same day, where she stayed for 11 days.
One of Kaska’s work colleagues then saw the article in the City Times, which led to Kaska calling Anton.
The brothers rushed to Atlasville to identify the feathered friend, which had travelled near to Venus Street from a home on Wilge Road, near the substation.
“That place (where Barbie stayed) is rigged out,” said Chris. “There are just plates everywhere with cut up fruit and vegetables and all kinds of treats.”
Chris’ dad, Ernst jokingly said: “She was in heaven and she is back on earth now.”
Chris said, “As I walked in the house – as soon as she heard my voice – she started calling us.”
“When I went into the room, she came straight to my shoulder.
“She flew onto my shoulder. Anton and I started crying.”
Kaska said, “Barbie went bonkers when she heard them.”
Barbie’s short-time owner clipped her wings, which the brothers will now maintain.
“It will save a lot of tears,” Anton remarked.
