Man is hopeful for the return of his African Grey parrot that whistles Andy Griffith Show theme song

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – You have probably seen plenty of missing cat and missing dog posters all over town and on social media.

You may have even gone through the terrifying experience of losing a pet yourself.

But one local man is missing something a little more exotic, right here in Bowling Green.

Jack Lesieur has been outside whistling his exotic African Grey parrot, Rubin’s, favorite song, the Andy Griffith theme song.

The 20-year-old parrot went missing Saturday at a home off Roselawn Way, near Loving Way off the roundabout in Bowling Green.

“My partner and I will never have children so I’d say our pets are the closest thing that we will have. Especially with him because he is so intelligent, you can interact with him in different ways than you can with a cat or a dog,” said Lesieur.

After a door was opened in the home for just a moment, Rubin flew away faster than they could catch him.

Since Ruben’s escape, Lesieur has seen his bird but wasn’t able to coax him home.

Bowling Green firefighters and BGMU even attempted to help capture the bird and a neighbor tried to attract the parrot by loudly playing Rubin’s favorite song over a public address system.

Rubin is grey with a bright red tail and may be found whistling the Andy Griffith theme song, making microwave dings or phone ringing sounds, or simply squawking.

Lesieur and his partner Brent Cardin have owned the little guy for eight years and see him as a critical part of their family.

“He’s been part of our daily routine for that whole time and just not having that when we get up in the morning or putting him to bed at night, it’s pretty sad and we’re taking it pretty hard,” said Lesieur.

Mick McGill, an exotic animal expert, used to take care of two African Greys and says if you see him, don’t try to catch him, instead contact the owner because the animal can get too stressed out and die.

McGill says he has high hopes the parrot will fly home when he gets hungry.

“Out of all the parrot species, they are up there in the top five for intelligence. They are going to look around. They are going to look for food, and if they don’t see their normal food source, and that normal food source can just be their food bowl with their food already in it. If they don’t see them in the wild, while they’re flying around, they are actually going to come back to where they know they are going to get fed,” said McGill.

McGill added, his biggest concern is the bird being harmed or killed by a predator such as a bigger bird or a cat.

Rubin’s favorite foods are pizza, apples, corn and bananas.

If you hear him singing or happen to see him, Lesieur asks you to text him at 270-535-7044.