A HEARTFELT appeal has gone out to find a new home for a pair of lovebirds.


The peach-faced African parrots were taken in by Flintshire Wildlife and Pet Rescue on Christmas Eve after their elderly owner died.


Shelter owner Elfyn Pierce-Jones would like to see them settled in a new home by Valentine’s Day.


He told the Leader: “They are very much in love.


“They come as a pair, a male and a female, and will be partners for life.


“If you remove one parrot from the cage, then the other will get very stressed.


“It is a nightmare when I try to clean the cage because they will just screech and pine for each other.


“They haven’t got names but I’m thinking of calling them Romeo and Juliet.”


Their romantic dinners for two consist of fruit, vegetables, grasses and seed.


Elfyn is appealing for sensible owners to take the lovebirds in and give them the fresh start they need.


He said: “I want somebody who wants them for what they are and not just because they feel sorry for them.”


The Greenfield rescue centre takes in hundreds of needy animals every year.
Among the latest intake is a group of baby hedgehogs.


“We’ve got three baby hedgehogs here at the moment,” said Elfyn. “People find them in their gardens and bring them in.


“We look after them over winter because they’re under 11 pounds in weight so wouldn’t survive if they went into hibernation. We keep them fed so they don’t need to hibernate.


“One of them is very friendly - it shouldn’t be, but it is.


“The hedgehogs cannot be kept as pets so we will be nursing them to full health and releasing them back into the wild.”


Elfyn was also shocked to discover a large rabbit, thought to be a young male, left in a cardboard box on his doorstep.


He said: “It’s a beautiful lop-eared rabbit. There was no note or anything with it.
“Normally when I get home I let the dogs out. If I’d done that it’s unlikely the rabbit would still be here.


“If it had rained the cardboard box would have disintegrated and it would have got out.”


As well as wild creatures in need of help, the centre sees many pets whose owners can no longer look after them.


Elfyn said these arrivals had increased throughout 2010.


He added: “We think it’s because of the credit crunch.


The pet is the first to go when people are struggling financially.


“People don’t get rid of the cigarettes or the alcohol, it’s the animals.”
l Call Elfyn on 01352 712345 if you can offer a home to any of the animals.