HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — The owner of a fish store in Highlands Ranch is hoping someone will bring back their pet cockatoo.
Neptune's Tropical Fish was broken into on Friday night. The burglars didn't take much besides the owner's beloved bird, Simon.
"She loves to sit in someone's lap and just get pets," Sharon Sullivan said. "She’s our little door greeter. Her best word is 'hello,' and when people walk in the door over here, she says 'hello' in her little voice."
Simon is a 31-year-old cockatoo often seen dancing around Neptune's.
On Friday around 10:45 p.m., surveillance video showed two people breaking into the front door. Sullivan said they got away with a few dollars, a fish tank light and, most importantly, Simon.
"People ask me, 'Was she microchipped?' It's like, well, they didn't do that in 1993. I never thought I would need it," Sullivan said. "I was heartbroken. She's my bird."
Sullivan said she reported the crime to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and shared her surveillance video with them. Now, all she can do is wait.
"I would never expect someone to come in and steal my bird. Out of all the things in a fish store," Sullivan said. "I’m over the anger. I just want to have my bird back."
Sullivan said a young cockatoo can sell for about $2,000, but with Simon being 31, her greatest value is sentimental.
"We have people that don’t even have fish, they’ll come in and talk to my bird," she said. "She's part of our family, and I'm sure she's terrified right now because we're her flock. This is her home. She never leaves here really, and we just want her back."
Sullivan initially said anyone who safely returns Simon would be eligible for a $1,000 reward. Wednesday, that reward was increased to $2,500.
"If you have purchased a Goffin Cockatoo in the last few days from someone and suspect it is our Simon we have a $2500 reward for her safe return," Neptune's said. "That is enough to go buy a younger bird, cage, and supplies. We are not looking for just any Goffin, it has to be Simon."
The shop said if someone has Simon and doesn't want to drop her off at the store, she can be taken to Colorado Exotic Animal Hospital at 7120 E Hampden Ave, Suite 101, Denver.
Simon's owner can be contacted at Neptune's during store hours at 303-798-1776 or via email at sharon@neptunestropical.com.
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