Hempfield man gets probation after injured parakeet case in Greensburg bar

A bar floor, a shoulder ride, and a bird that could barely hold itself together ended with one year of probation and a $5,000 restitution order. Timothy Grace, 40, of Hempfield Township pleaded guilty to animal-cruelty and neglect charges after police said he brought Blue Skies, a parakeet, into Callaghan’s Bar on South Main Street in Greensburg on Feb. 21.

By the time officers got involved, Blue Skies had been described as weak, underweight and in distress, with a broken leg and respiratory ailments. Court records said the bird had a tag on its right leg that appeared broken while it sat on another customer’s shoulder. Patrons and staff told police Grace appeared intoxicated, and reports said he allegedly told people at the bar that the bird had been given marijuana and beer daily. Grace was later arrested for public intoxication before animal-cruelty charges followed.

The legal penalty matched the harm. Prosecutors dropped a felony aggravated-cruelty charge as part of the plea deal, but the sentence still included probation, restitution and court-ordered mental-health and alcohol-addiction evaluations. Pennsylvania cruelty law allows restitution for veterinary bills in animal-cruelty convictions, and injuries that cause bodily harm can be graded as a misdemeanor or, in more serious cases, a felony. In this case, the bill for Blue Skies’ care topped $5,000.

The bird required emergency treatment in Monroeville and was fitted with a splint on the broken leg. That detail matters to anyone who has ever tried to move a parrot through a noisy, crowded environment. A stressed bird can bolt, slam into a wall, injure a wing or leg, or go downhill fast if breathing is already compromised. Blue Skies was later cared for by Teri Grendzinski, president of PEARL Parrot Rescue, who said the bird’s leg had healed and its breathing had improved.

That recovery is the better ending, but it does not erase the warning. Bars, parties and packed events are built for people, not parakeets. Loud noise, alcohol, smoke, unfamiliar hands and constant movement can turn a tame companion into a medical emergency in minutes. If a bird is already underweight, breathing hard, feather-fluffed, quiet, or unable to perch securely, it should not be leaving the house. PEARL Parrot Rescue, a Pittsburgh-area foster-based nonprofit focused on education, adoption and rehoming, says it can only help birds within a reasonable distance from Pittsburgh, and Petfinder’s listing for the rescue estimates about 85% of birds purchased are rehomed or abandoned within the first two years. Blue Skies’ case is a hard reminder that one bad outing can become a rescue, a hospital stay and a court order all at once.