Brave Budgie On The Wing Finds Refuge In Howell Beauty School

HOWELL, NJ — Draco, a small blue budgie, had quite an adventure when he flew out the door of his Howell house last week and into the vast sky above it.

But luckily for him, he stopped for a breather at a Howell beauty school, was rescued by its amazed staff and was reunited with his owner.

It all happened last Wednesday, March 1, when Draco, owned by Jessica Pearson of Howell, somehow got out of his cage and flew out the door.

It was cold. He was only eight months old and now flying about in nature. Pearson said on her Facebook page that she spent one of the worst 24 hours of her life calling for him and looking in vain for a small blue bundle of feathers somewhere in the blue sky.

It seemed hopeless, until social media, caring humans and Draco's own feisty spirit all intersected at The Salon Professional Academy in Howell.

Pearson had posted on her Facebook page about her plight. And through a response to her sister's page, they somehow made a connection with an employee of The Salon Professional Academy at Howell Commons, said Sujal Wadhia, who owns the school with his wife, Jyoti.

What happened then was "a miracle and a blessing," Sujal Wadhia said.

The rescue begins

It turned out employees there just happened to see a little blue bird resting outside its plate glass window on Thursday morning.

Justin Springer, the employee who spotted Draco at the window, went quietly out to him.

"I just put out my finger and he hopped right on," Springer said.

Fellow employee Adrianna Greco began caring for Draco - and everyone was cooing over the small creature. Draco got warmed up and acclimated to his new surroundings.

Springer and Draco were comfortable enough to eventually go to Petco for food and a box, Springer said.

"He rode on my steering wheel over there," Springer recalled.

Everyone in the salon school fell in love with Draco, and Springer said that as Draco became more comfortable, "You could tell he had a feisty personality."

That personality - or instinct - helped him fly from his house, wing it over Route 9 to eventually make it to the store after spending a cold night all alone. Springer estimated he flew about a quarter of a mile away from his home.

Meanwhile, while Draco was getting all this love at a cozy salon, the social media connection with his owner was made.

Pearson, frantic by now, heard from her sister that she got a message that someone had Draco, Pearson posted on her Facebook page.

The two "grabbed our coats and keys and hopped in the car," she recalled.

They Facetimed a call and saw, indeed, it was Draco - alive and well and waiting for her.

"Everyone was around the front desk, so happy, crying, loving on my baby," Pearson posted. "He could not have found a more loving group of people."

Sujal Wadhia said the school bonded so much over Draco that maybe - maybe - he'll get a bird for the school.

One of the school's customers, former Councilmember Pam Richmond, said she heard about the whole story at the salon and alerted Patch to the tale because, despite it's large area, "Howell is like a small town. We help each other."

Draco's social media following

Springer said once they found out Pearson was the owner, they looked up her Facebook page and found Draco "has quite a following" on social media.

According to the internet, "budgerigars" - or budgies or parakeets - are popular pets around the world (after cats and dogs) "due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech."

And Springer found from Facebook that Draco can speak a lot of words and especially enjoys Christmas carols, he said, although he was not up to speaking at the salon.

If you go to Pearson's Facebook page, you can see videos of Draco, named, of course, for the "Harry Potter" character Draco Malfoy.

You can even hear him repeating a Potter spell, "wingardium levioso" quite clearly. He wishes Pearson "good night" (at 4:30 in the afternoon) and even uses a British accent at times as the Draco character.

Pearson said Draco is a bit of a terror at only eight months old. "He's been a terror and a joy," she said.

Because the bird species is originally from Australia, she was terrified that he was out in the cold. But the birds also can be nomadic, according to internet information. So Draco may have called upon his natural instincts to survive.

A week after his adventure, this Friday morning, Pearson and the staff of the academy will have a reunion there at 9 a.m., Sujal Wadhia said, to celebrate the experience.

And Draco will be center stage at the celebration. He might even have a bite to eat - he likes banana his owner says.

"I'm not much of a miracle person," Pearson said, "but this is a miracle."