John_In_Dakota

*Rant at the end *

Ill Man's Companion Parrot Stolen From Coffee House
Witness Says Woman Took Parrot From Table

POSTED: 2:16 pm PST November 2, 2004

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- A seriously ill man's companion -- a parrot named Boogy -- was snatched from a Starbucks coffee house table by a woman who drove off with the bird.

"She has taken my whole life away from me," former trucker Rick Green said. "She has taken my baby. She has taken the love of my life."

Green took Boogy to Starbucks at least four times a week. The coffee house offered the mostly bedridden Green a respite from his solitude. He suffers complications from diabetes, fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy.

On Friday, Green dropped the 2-year-old parrot off at a table while he got tortilla chips for Boogy at the nearby Baja Fresh restaurant. Green gave the chips to Boogy and then went into Starbucks.

When he returned, his beloved bird was gone.

"I screamed, 'No,' " said Green. "You could hear me a mile away."

A witness told police that a woman grabbed Boogy, placed the bird on her shoulder and walked away. She then got into a silver car and fled.

Sgt. Paul Fitzpatrick said there was no license plate number or other information.

Stooped over a cane this week, Green hobbled to his electric wheelchair and settled himself into it. He displayed a poster he made and he sat vigil with it outside the Starbucks.

Green has had the parrot since it was 5 months old.

"She bonded with me. She just loved music. She would take her right foot and gently hold my nose. She would lay on my stomach and give me kisses," Green said, noting Boogy can say "Polly wanna cracker" and "bye-bye."

** This POS needs to be found then put in a hole and burried! I was reading this and I could feel my blood presure start to go up. I think this person was waiting for this poor guy to come in and then steal the bird. I hope she is found and on the way to the police station she has a heart attack and dies! **