Vancouver Island woman reunited with Tweetie, her pet pigeon

In October, Sandy Bird's pet pigeon, Tweetie, flew out of her vehicle and returned to someone else's.

Bird, 72, had rescued Tweetie from near death just months before. The bird was like family, she told CBC News, often accompanying her on road trips.

When the bird mistook a stranger's truck for Bird's, the stranger drove the bird to to the BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) in Metchosin, Vancouver Island.

Bird tracked down her lost pigeon but, because she didn't have the proper permits, was unable to claim him.

"It is illegal to possess any type of wildlife without a permit. They are protected under the Wildlife Act," said senior wildlife rehabilitator Christina Carrieres.

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"He's probably the most lonely, lost little guy in the world. He's more than just a bird," Bird said in October of Tweetie's new life in captivity.

Wildlife officials planned to transfer Tweetie to another wildlife centre where Tweetie could live permanently. Then Bird got word the centre would, instead, release Tweetie into the wild.

Not knowing the exact time or location of the release, Bird used local media to ask strangers to look out for her bird. And they did.

An office worker, on the lookout for the bird, spotted Tweetie in a mall parking lot in Chemainus, the seaside community Bird calls home.

Staff called Bird, who immediately came to pick up her pet.

Six weeks after Tweetie went missing, he was back at home with Bird.

"I am the happiest woman in the world. If I won the lotto I couldn't be happier," she told CBC News after the reunion.