Community Rallies to Bring Beloved Macaw Back Home After He Flew Away

A Schriever-based Macaw named 'Hoggle' was able to miraculously be returned to his owners recently after a scary ordeal where the bird flew away from his home. Ronny and Dana Friloux have owned Hoggle since he was just a day old. The bird flew away from his cage and was gone for several days before he was finally able to be rescued and taken back home.

Hoggle's Journey Home

Dana Friloux shared Hoggle’s amazing story to The Gazette this week, saying that she is so grateful to the community for their support. The Friloux’s shared their story on social media as it happened, and an army formed in support of Hoggle and bringing him back home.

“I am so grateful for everyone,” she said. “We can’t say thank you enough to everyone.”

Hoggle's Family

For the Friloux’s, being a ‘bird mom’ is something they cherish. The family loves Hoggle like a son. They got him as a day-old just hatched out of his egg. They nurtured and hand-fed Hoggle as a baby when he was bald and had no feathers and they watched him grow to become the beautiful, colorful tropical bird that he is today.

“He was ugly,” Dana says with a laugh remembering Hoggle as a baby. “He was my tropical chicken.”

The Friloux’s lived in South Lafourche when they got Hoggle, but they moved to Schriever after Ida. When there, they got the bird a big outdoor cage.

Dana said she put Hoggle out to get a little sun and outdoor time when things took a turn.

Just before dark when it was time for the bird to come in, Dana opened the cage, and Hoggle grew too big for his britches. He flapped his wings, caught air and flew away — into a tree two lots away.

The family tried to get Hoggle down, but couldn’t. He slept in the tree for the night.

The next morning, a worried and concerned Dana went outside and called for her beloved Hoggle.

“He answered,” she said.

Dana said she perked up knowing Hoggle survived the night, but the excitement was short-lived because he didn’t come down.

When she walked home, the bird made a break, flying above Dana’s head and in a circle over his owner’s head. He then flew into another tree about 7 houses down.

While the Friloux’s tried to get Hoggle out of the tree, the bird showed his personality. He talked, sung and pruned himself, but didn’t move.

When Dana’s daughter, Demi drove up to help try and get the bird out of the tree, Hoggle got excited and danced and talked to his sister, but again — he didn’t move.

He did move out of the tree later that day, but moved to a tree even higher — farther from his mom and dad who worried if he’d ever come home.

The next morning, the Friloux’s again called out to Hoggle, but he was not there, which led Dana to think the worst.

“I was devastated,” she said, “I cried. He is like my son. We raised him. We had to hand-feed him every 4 hours just like a baby. It takes a lot to be bird parents. That’s not an easy animal like a dog or a cat.”

But while Dana laid on the sofa and cried, she got the phone call she will never forget.

Hoggle's Rescue

A friend looking for Hoggle found him and he was in their tree.

So the process started again. Dana and Ronny went to the tree in the middle of the day in the beating summer sun and pleaded with their beloved pet bird to fly down to them and come home.

Hoggle wasn’t just being stubborn. Macaws instinctively fly as high as they can when in the wild and they instinctively do not land on the ground as a defense mechanism.

Dana said she’d look at the bird and he would edge toward flying off the branch, but he couldn’t bring himself to bypass thousands of years of evolution and go against his instincts — despite now being hungry and thirsty.

“He would be so scared and confused,” she said.

But by this time, Hoggle had developed an army with his mother sharing updates on social media and the community getting behind returning the bird home.

Dana said a family member was going to rent a man-lift to help in the search, and while that was in process, the Schriever Fire Department showed up to help out.

With his mom on an extension ladder, Dana made another plea to Hoggle to come down. He tried, but again couldn’t — too fearful to move.

But the Schriever Fire Department then got creative. Firefighters asked Dana for permission to spray the bird with a hose of water in an attempt to make the bird move out of the tree and come to the ground.

It took several sprays and multiple tries, but finally, Hoggle fell to the ground, and Dana ran through a “boo-poo-dee” ditch to locate, grab and hug her son.

“I was so relieved,” she said. “Hoggle was finally home.”

The bird was exhausted when he got home. He was dehydrated and hungry. He ate, drank and stayed on the ground in his cage for a while — as a way to stay cool.

Today, Hoggle is back to his normal self, and is singing and talking up a storm to those who visit him.

Dana said Hoggle is not allowed outside anymore — at least not until he gets his wings clipped in the coming weeks. Then, he will get back out in his outdoor cage and enjoy some fresh air.

“You would think nothing ever happened to him,” she said with a laugh. “We’re so grateful to have him back and we thank everyone — our friends, our family, our neighbors, the Schriever Fire Department and all of our social media friends for their support in bringing him back home.”