Gizmo will be reunited with Faith Good. Picture by Nick TrippeGizmo the monk parakeet is coming back to where he once belonged.
Westmoreland County Judge Gary Caruso on Wednesday ruled the 27-year-old bird can be returned to its Youngwood owner, even though it is considered contraband by state officials.
“I'm so happy. He was my baby,” said Gizmo's owner, 63-year-old Faith Good. “I just lost my husband three weeks ago (after 43 years of marriage), and I wish he was still here.
“But Gizmo is coming home,” she said.
Game Commission officials confiscated Gizmo in March after citing Good for eight counts of possessing birds that are considered off-limits for private owners in Pennsylvania and eight other states.
Good pleaded guilty to summary offenses last summer and was fined $500.
But she fought for the return of Gizmo, a family pet purchased in 1987 for her daughter.
Game officials contend the birds are agricultural pests that could ruin crops and cause power outages by building nests on electrical lines.
They refused to give Gizmo back to Good. Prosecutors said they couldn't return the bird because he is considered contraband from a criminal case.
In a three-page opinion, Caruso conceded Gizmo's plight was unusual, but it seemed sensible to reunite the pet with his owner. The judge ordered that Gizmo be kept indoors, kept in Good's possession and not be mated.
“In the event Faith Good should predecease the bird, the bird will be forfeited to the Pennsylvania Game Commission,” Caruso ruled.
Good said the conditions won't be a problem. She is raising about 80 other birds at her home that she plans to sell.
“Every morning we would hear him say, ‘Gizmo' and other bird's names,” Good said. “He can imitate my voice and my husband's voice. I'm just so happy he'll be back.”
Her attorney, Anthony Rosner, said he is not sure when Gizmo will be returned. For the last year, he has lived in a state-run menagerie.
Assistant District Attorney Kelly Hammers could not be reached for comment.
“I have his cage here, and now he can be back in it. I would walk by the (empty) cage every day.
“That was really hard,” Good said.