She says she let the woman have her pet parrot for a day or two to see how she got along with other birds. That woman now says it’s her bird. Can you keep someone’s pet and get away with it? Sometimes and it’s why they called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
If you have a pet, you know its more than an animal.
Julia Berkovsky: “I got her when she was right out of the egg and she grew in our hands and became a part of us. My son, 6-year-old Gregory, he loves her.”
Ruby is now 3-years-old. Sometimes in her cage, sometimes roaming the house with Julia.
Julia Berkovsky: “I have a stand in front of my treadmill in the bed room, so when I exercise she exercises.”
That’s the fun part, but there is reality. Julia’s husband works from home and Ruby likes to talk and squawk. So Julia contacted a woman labeled by an animal group as a bird expert.
Julia Berkovsky: “She offered to put my Ruby with her birds for a day to see how she was going to react.”
On YouTube, the woman, Debbie Carney, calls herself crazy as a parrot.
She took Ruby and Julia says promised to let her pick her up the bird in a couple of days. But the reaction in the Berkovsky household that night, was not great.
Julia Berkovsky: “And my son is crying hysterically to get our Ruby back. My husband called her to get her address.”
But Carney who had put a video of Ruby on YouTube to show her off said she would not return Ruby. Julia and her husband went to her house. The police were called.
Julia Berkovsky: “They went inside. They came outside. They told us that since we voluntarily gave our bird away she told them she adopted the bird. They have no right to remove the bird from the premises.”
Julia was forced to leave Ruby behind.
Julia Berkovsky: “I felt devastated. I was crying for two hours until I got home and I can’t stop crying since. My son is hysterical.”
Julia then called Help Me Howard. We then went to see Debbie Carney.
Patrick Fraser: “I’m from Channel 7 news and we are doing a story that involves a bird that was taken from Julia.”
Debbie Carney: “There was no bird taken from Julia.”
Carney let us come in to see her birds. Ruby was there. She told us she would never return Ruby because she had not been fed the proper food and:
Debbie Carney: “The only reason they said they wanted the bird back is because of the child. if it’s a small child, it is a small child, you get him a little bird and they are over it. I know how these children are.”
Julia was again stunned.
Julia Berkovsky: “Do I feel hopeless? I feel devastated to be honest with you. I might never see my baby bird again.”
Well Howard, Debbie says Julia gave her the bird. Julia says she let her have it for a day or two. Legally whose bird is it?
Howard Finkelstein: “In a courtroom the judge would have to consider three things: If his was a gift, theft or what the law calls abalement, which means you are holding someone’s property for a few days. With nothing in writing, a judge would have to decide who he or she believes.”
Julia went to court a judge believed her and signed an order forcing Debbie Carney to return Ruby to Julia. When police went to her home to get the bird, Carney told them she gave Ruby to a woman in North Miami. When police went to her house, she wouldn’t open the door. We went by. Again she didn’t answer the door and neighbors said she no longer had any birds.
Howard Finkelstein: “Hopefully, someone watching will let us know where Ruby is. And a lesson to everyone, if you are going to give someone something of value to hold, either put it in writing or have a witness so you can prove you didn’t give it away.”
Julia Berkovsky: “I’m going to pursue it with the legal law suit.”
Julia says Debbie Carney has moved out of town. Julia is going to sue her for what she’s done, while offering cash to anyone who knows who has Ruby or where she is right now.
Julia Berkovsky: “At this point, I would like to offer an a reward to the general public to help me return Ruby back home. Two-thousand dollars to the person who is going to bring her back here.”
Two-thousand dollars if Julia gets Ruby back and $500 if you just tell her where the bird is. Call us or Julia.
And Howard says get something in writing if you drop off your animal. So I asked why couldn’t a kennel or a groomer say “Oh, Patrick gave me that dog.” Howard says because they are in the business of boarding or grooming animals, it’s implied that it’s only temporary and, of course, you get your animal back when you pay.
The hopes of solving your problem flown the coop? Ready to do a little squawking and return things to normal? Contact us. We don’t just parrot other people’s solutions, we come up with our own.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser 7News.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you know where ruby is, contact helpmehoward@wsvn.Com or
Julia at helprubygethome@gmail.Com
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
E-mail: helpmeHoward@wsvn.com (please include your contact phone number when e-mailing)
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN