Cumbernauld News- Scottish Headlines
A pet barn owl which disappeared more than two weeks ago has been reunited with its owners by an animal welfare charity.
Barney flew off from his home in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, on September 23 as he was being taken out of his cage.
He was taken in by the Scottish SPCA after members of the public spotted him in Netherton Road, Wishaw, on September 27.
The couple who found Barney said he approached them and jumped onto the woman's hand.
The Scottish SPCA put out a plea to find out who the owl belonged to, and owner Angela Stevenson came forward and collected Barney from the charity's Wildlife Rescue Centre near Dunfermline on Sunday.
She said: "We honestly thought we'd never see Barney again and couldn't believe it when my son's friend called to say he'd seen him in the local newspaper.
"We were taking him out of his cage when his lead slipped off and he just flew away. After looking everywhere for him with no luck we were all devastated and thought that Barney was gone forever.
"He was found very close to our house so he obviously hadn't gotten very far after flying off. This is the second time this has happened, so he's a bit of an escape artist and we'll definitely be keeping a close eye on him from now on."
Three-year-old Barney was wearing an identity ring.
Rescue centre manager Colin Seddon said: "We were beginning to think no one would come forward for Barney, so we're really pleased we were able to reunite him with his owners.
He's a very friendly bird and we're glad this story has a happy ending."