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Cockatiel Escapes Home, Flies Miles Away To Owners' Fellow Church Member's Head

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A family feared its beloved pet was gone forever, but on a wing and a prayer, their pet bird is home after getting loose.

Spike escaped his cage and flew over rooftops, treetops and a freeway. But that's nothing compared to his miraculous return.

Amanda Carter-King thought the cockatiel was gone for good.

"We're not sure how it got out of the cage, the cage was still completely enclosed," he said.

She posted a message on Facebook that Spike flew the coop and was out in the real world.

"The first day I was really in tears because we read about the likelihood of getting our bird back," she said.

One night passed, then another with no sign of Spike.

Then the incredible happened—the bird made a beeline for a mother and son at a school pick-up. It landed on Robin Waldron's head, three miles away from Spike's home.

It turns out Spike made a choice to land with a family who just happened to share a link with his owner.

"I was not sure what I was going to do. Going through my mind I'm thinking how can we get him home," Waldron said.

It turned out they happened to have a mutual Facebook friend—their pastor. The families go to the same church.

"They open the door and I say 'Oh my goodness it's you.' We go to a very large church so we've seen them for years," Carter-King said.

Spike ended up safely at home on a wing and a prayer.

He won't have any more chances for a long-distance getaway like that again, as he's had a trip to the vet to have his wings clipped.

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