But no one in this South Ward home needed help because the damsel in distress was just a crazy old bird named Luna - with white feathers and wings and a beak - who was trained to do this kind of thing.
Luna is an Australian cockatoo owned by South Ward Committeewoman Evelyn DeLeon. She's something of a neighborhood celebrity who serves as the mascot for the local neighborhood watch.
Her bird touched off the scare when two people approached DeLeon's home on the 400 block of Centre Street about 9:50 a.m. Wednesday. Neighbors said the resulting scene was a panic, withthe typical emergency response.
DeLeon said she was out at the time, and the two young people were there seeking information about the Alert Driving School, which is run by her husband.
After receiving no answer at the door, DeLeon said the strangers were soon frightened by what would have been a common sound for neighborhood residents - Luna's cackles, chirps and yes, talking, coming from inside.
The pair reported to police that they heard what sounded like a woman screaming out "Help me! Help me!" inside the home.
DeLeon said yesterday she wasn't surprised to hear that her pet screamed out for assistance, as she taught her the phrase when she was 6 months old.
She said she trained Luna to yell out for help by taking the pet bird in the shower with her, teaching her to say the phrase if she was getting wet. DeLeon said she wanted Luna to know the phrase so that if the bird was outside playing in the yard and a storm approached, she would yell for her owner to come bring her to safety.
|
|
Police said officers arrived to find the two callers waiting for them and that they could hear for themselves the sounds of a woman screaming for help.
The officers, police said, sought a way to enter the home, but the front door was locked, and the backyard had a chained stockade fence. Also presenting something of a problem was Deleon's 11-year-old white German shepard named Mieko, who the officers spotted roaming inside.
Police said officers were ordered to kick in the front door, while another cut his way through the fence to enter the yard, where he was able to lure Mieko out through an unlocked side door and away from danger.
The officers checked the entire house, from the basement to the roof, in an effort to locate the source of the screaming and any possible suspects. But only after beginning a second search of the house did they find the culprit, as Luna once again began screaming out "Help me! Help me!"
DeLeon said she was panicked over the situation as she raced home to find the police in her house. She was relieved that all ended well and that she and the officers could have a good laugh over the whole thing.
"My bird is OK, my dog is OK and my home is OK," DeLeon said.
