Time to Fly Read Online Free PDF

home.”
    â€œThat’s so irresponsible!” Maggie snorts.
    â€œAnd cruel!” I add. We know it happens—all too often. We see plenty of abandoned pets at Dr. Mac’s Place. People often buy their kids or their friends pets as gifts at Christmas or Easter without thinking it through or finding out what kind of care the pet requires. Then the owners decide they don’t want the pet anymore. Some people even think it’s a kindness to set a pet free.
    â€œIt is cruel,” Dr. Timmons agrees. “Virtually all pet parrots are hatched and raised in captivity, and in order to socialize them, they’re hand-fed by humans from day one. They don’t have survival skills, and their odds of surviving for very long in the wild are slim. I hope you can catch E.T. and find his owners, or at least find a good home for him.”
    With a glance at Gran, I nod solemnly at Dr. Timmons and make up my mind right then and there: no matter what, I’m going to find a way to capture E.T. and get him home, wherever that may be for him.
    After our walk through the aviary, Dr. Timmons treats us to a quick tour through the zoo’s veterinary hospital. It’s huge, a lot bigger than Gran’s clinic. The vets here have to take care of all kinds of animals, from gorillas and giraffes to tarantulas and naked mole rats, and everything in between.
    â€œWouldn’t this be a cool place to work?” Maggie murmurs to me.
    I nod in agreement. It sure would! (Well, except for the tarantulas.)
    As Dr. Timmons takes us through some of the operating rooms, Gran brings up the parrot flock.
    â€œI wonder where they came from,” Dr. Timmons muses. She turns to me. “Do they all talk?”
    â€œNo, not that I’ve heard,” I answer. “The ones in the flock act sort of wild compared to E.T. He looks right at me, but the parrots in the flock are more skittish and shy, like the birds you have here.”
    â€œThey sound more like wild parrots, then,” says Dr. Timmons.
    â€œBut why would wild parrots be flying around loose here in Ambler?” asks Brenna. “They’re certainly not native to this area!” Brenna’s parents are wildlife rehabilitators. They have a special license that allows them to care for wild animals that are injured or sick. Last winter her family even had an orphaned fawn recuperating in their backyard. Brenna knows a lot about wild animals. Of course, even I know that wild parrots don’t live in Pennsylvania. Or didn’t until now.
    â€œIt’s possible these parrots escaped from a breeder,” says Dr. Timmons.
    Gran nods. “That thought occurred to me, too. I did place a call to the sheriff, just to see if anyone had reported a breakout of parrots. But he hadn’t heard anything. He said he’d call back if he did.”
    â€œMaybe the parrots were freed by animal rights people,” David suggests. Maggie rolls her eyes, like it’s a dumb thing to say, and swats David on the shoulder. “Well, they could have been! You don’t know!” David says indignantly, swatting her back.
    Ignoring their squabbling, I turn to Dr. Timmons. “Is there anything we can do to help the parrots?”
    â€œThey’re probably better equipped to survive on their own than a tame, hand-fed bird,” she replies. “In fact, I’d say your E.T. is lucky he hooked up with them—they should be able to lead him to food and help him avoid predators. Being part of a flock is a protective measure for birds,” she adds. “Still, the parrots may need people to help provide food, especially in the winter, when everything’s dead and snow covered. Even if they’re able to keep warm, getting enough to eat will be a problem for them.”
    A zoo staffer calls Dr. Timmons into an office. She excuses herself as we thank her for the tour.
    On our way out, we pass a young man who is examining a big bird