Remind me to stay away from Pennsylvania. Image by Joachim S. Müller Pennsylvania Game Commission officials said on Friday a Youngwood woman's pet parakeet ran afoul of the law and they won't give it back.
“It's in a menagerie, a facility that is equipped to have birds. We can't declare where it is,” Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Hammers said of Gizmo, the Monk parakeet confiscated this summer by the commission.
Gizmo's owner, Faith Good, 63, is asking Westmoreland County Judge Gary Caruso to order the return of her pet of 27 years.
Hammers appeared before Caruso on Friday to contest Good's request.
Caruso will convene a hearing on Oct. 22 before deciding Gizmo's future.
“People are calling from all over the country to support her,” said Good's lawyer, Anthony Rosner. “We're looking to resolve this.”
But state officials contend the bird is among a flock of birds on the state's prohibited list, meaning they cannot be owned by the public.
The birds are considered to be agricultural pests and could ruin crops and cause power outages by building nests on electrical lines.
Earlier this year, state game officials cited Good for possession of eight illegal birds. In June, she pleaded guilty to summary offenses before District Judge James Falcon.
Good was fined $500, and the state confiscated the eight birds from her home, including her beloved Gizmo.
She was not emotionally attached to the other fowls, which she planned to sell, Rosner said.
“She thought she was going to get (Gizmo) back. They pulled the rug out from under her. She's just a person who loves animals, loves birds,” Rosner said.
Petition: The State of Pennsylvania: Give Faith Good's Monk Parakeet, Gizmo, back to her.