When Brittani Venette’s affectionate pet bird escaped her northwest Lubbock home recently, she was not sure she’d ever see Kazooie again.
But a few days later, Kazooie was back in her cage with her sister, thanks to the Lubbock Country Club’s unofficial bird rescue process.
Jason Bradley found the friendly bird on the third hole on a Sunday and drove it to the Pro Shop, where Mike Raschke made a cage out of ball bins and fed it some crackers. He walked around the Pro Shop with Kazooie on his shoulder for about 30 minutes. But with The Club closed Monday, they couldn’t leave the bird in the makeshift ball-bin cage. Staff borrowed a cage from a member and waitress Victoria Rushing took the bird home.
By then, a picture of the bird had been posted on The Club’s Facebook page. Brittani’s mom posted photos on missing pet sites. Someone saw one of the posts on the missing pet site and The Club’s Facebook post and soon Victoria was bringing Kazooie to her grateful owner, ending three days of worry.
“I was so worried about her getting picked off by a cat or bigger bird. It’s just amazing to have her back,” said Brittani.  “She could have gone states over, it’s a blessing she stayed in town,” she said.
Mike said it was good luck the overnight temperatures were not too cold when the bird was loose. Once Kazooie came home, she flew to her cage and got some food and water. “Then she talked to her sister and went to sleep,” said her owner.
The drama started when Brittani went to wash the six-foot-tall cage her birds call home. She takes the cage outside to spray it down and then brush it clean. One of the legs under the cage came loose, the cage fell, the door came loose and Kazooie went airborne. After making sure the door was secure so the other bird would not go, Brittani looked around for 10-15 minutes trying to find Kazooie.
Over the next few days, she walked around her neighborhood with one of the bird’s bell toys on her hip – but had no luck.
But her bird was making friends at Lubbock Country Club where the efforts of a member and staff were soon to lead to a happy reunion for a worried bird owner.