By Tim Binnall
Pennsylvania authorities arrested a man for allegedly abusing his pet parakeet after he brought the injured bird to a bar and bragged about its troubling diet of beer and marijuana. According to a local media report, the bizarre bust occurred on the evening of February 21st in the community of Greensburg when police received a rather peculiar call from a local watering hole. A bartender there informed the cops that a man had entered the establishment with, of all things, a parakeet and that the bird was in a bad way.
"The bird has a broken foot, and he's telling everybody at the bar that he feeds it marijuana and makes it drink beer," the police dispatcher relayed to officers on patrol, "currently, the bird is in his pocket." Cops arriving at Callaghan's Bar quickly confirmed the curious account when they encountered suspect Timothy Grace sitting with the badly injured bird. "Its leg appeared to be broken," Sergeant Justin Scalzo recalled, "its foot was actually facing the wrong direction."
Cops swiftly slapped the cuffs on Grace, initially arresting him for public intoxication as they assessed the parakeet problem. The injured and malnourished bird was subsequently brought to an animal hospital, where it received food and treatment for its broken leg. As for Green, he was later charged with animal cruelty for his treatment of the poor parakeet, which is thankfully on the road to recovery with what one hopes is a healthier diet.