Valuable bird stolen from T.O. couple’s backyard

Valuable bird stolen from T.O. couple’s backyard

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers WANTS HIS BIRD BACK-Steve Margolis of Thousand Oaks shows his cockatoo, Zach. He's offering a reward of $2,000 for the recovery of Zach's mate, Sammy, who was stolen last month.

By Sophia Fischer

sfischer@theacorn.com

A heartbroken Thousand Oaks pet owner is appealing to the public for help in finding his stolen cockatoo, which was taken from his backyard aviary on March 30. The owner, Steve Margolis, is offering a $2,000 reward to recover the female bird named Sammy.

Margolis, who works from home, had gone out for an hour to pick up lunch. When he returned, Sammy was gone. Her mate, Zach, also a cockatoo, was still in the aviary. Margolis thinks Zach was left behind because he isn’t as friendly as Sammy and may have tried to bite the thief or thieves.

"I just hope Sammy doesn’t get stuck in a small cage wherever she ends up. These birds have a 60- to 80-year life span," said Margolis, who bought the 14-year-old bird from a breeder when she was 9 weeks old. "She loves to play in the rain. Even if she gets a good home, she probably won’t get to do that."

Sammy is 12 to 14 inches tall and has clipped wings. She is a classic sulphur-crested cockatoo, white with a distinctive yellow crest and a dark grey-black bill. Females, like Sammy, have red-brown eyes. They are noisy birds with a distinctive loud screech.

"Sammy is super-friendly," Margolis said. "She loves to come down off her perch and knock on the back door with her beak looking for me."

Since Sammy was stolen, Zach has become needier, Margolis said, especially at night when he seeks attention instead of retiring to his perch like he used to.

"I’ve had him for about seven years. He’s known nothing but Sammy," Margolis said. "His sounds and actions are her. He learned from her."

Margolis believes that whoever took the bird had to have known it was there and was watching the house and Margolis for the right opportunity. His house is located on a dead-end street. Margolis says his backyard can be seen only by neighbors and the association landscapers. Margolis and his wife, Sheri, moved to the house from Westlake Village last August.

In the weeks since Sammy was stolen, Margolis has filed a police report with the Thousand Oaks Police Department, and he’s called every pet store from Ventura to San Diego to see if any birds like Sammy may have been brought in by a private owner. Cockatoos are expensive birds, says Margolis, often priced between $2,000 and $3,000 by pet stores. Several pet store owners he spoke with indicated that there were animal theft rings in the area.

"It’s big in the Mexican world to steal these exotics and sell them for 300 or 400 bucks," Margolis said.

Thousand Oaks Detective Allen Devers, who is working on the case, says this is not the first time an animal has been stolen in the area. A dog was taken during a recent burglary and given to the girlfriend of one of the suspects, Devers said. The girlfriend saw an article in the paper about the theft with a picture of the dog.

"She recognized the dog, contacted us and we were able to get the dog returned," Devers said.

Devers agrees with Margolis that whoever took the bird didn’t just happen upon it, but knew it was there.

"I would suspect that if somebody took the bird for the purpose of selling it they would have known that someone was looking for an animal like that," Devers said. "I would hate to think that anyone would take possession of something they know is stolen but it does happen."

If anyone has information on Sammy, please contact Devers at (805) 494-8219 or Margolis at (805) 497-9700.