Woman left heartbroken after pet hotel allegedly swapped her budgie while she was on holiday

A woman has been left heartbroken after she claims a pet hotel swapped her budgie while she was on holiday. Justine Wery, 26, checked in her four birds before she left for Turkey, including her tame two-year-old blue male, Buddy, who can speak and whistle.



When she went to pick them up two weeks later, she was given her yellow and purple budgies and Indian ringneck parrot back - and a small grey baby budgie which couldn’t speak. Justine says she was told by management that no birds had died in the last two weeks and that Buddy may have been sold accidentally or got out of his cage.

After refusing to take the imposter home from Bruno’s Pet Shop in Daventry, Northamptonshire, she is now waiting to hear whether she will get her beloved two-year-old budgie back. She said: “I don’t think he could have got out of his cage as if it was open they all would have come out. I was devastated. You just know when it’s your pet. Everything was wrong, his markings, the colour and Buddy could speak and whistle.”


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Justine, who lives in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, bought Buddy from a local pet shop two years ago and has trained him to speak. Buying him for £20, she said tame birds are often worth more money and can be expensive. She added: “I’ve had lots of messages about the budgie but I don’t think I will be getting him back.” A spokesman for Bruno’s Pet Shop said the matter was under investigation by management.