Police are searching for a thief who took two pets from an exotic bird store in Concord.
The owner of Feathered Follies believes its popular bird worth $2,500 was targeted in the break-in reported over the weekend.
"It's unthinkable," Feathered Follies owner Mercedes Kemp said. "Not many people know what a bird is worth or think about it, and most people wouldn't know how to handle them. Whoever did it knew how to handle the bird."
The thief busted a window, climbed inside and stole two of three birds in the room, but did not take anything else.
Kemp suspects the person responsible wanted Tofu, the store's popular Umbrella Cockatoo whose YouTube videos have millions of views.
"They are your child for many, many years," Kemp said. "They are so much more than an animal. They are not an object to be bought or sold on a whim."
The thief not only got away with Tofu, but also stole 28-year-old Plato, an African Red Belly who the store was boarding for an owner.
"I feel everything from sorrow, to anger, to guilt, you name it," Kemp said. "I feel it and all at once."
Kemp said a possible handprint was left on the cage and hopes the possible evidence leads to the thief.
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Meanwhile, she has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for a reward for anyone that knows information that leads to the birds being returned.
"Please help bring them home," Kemp said. "They are loved and they are our children, our babies, and we just want to have them back."
Police said an investigation is ongoing.
