Larry Southwick probably thought he had gotten lucky when he called the Long Beach animal shelter and was told that, yes, officers had collected his missing parrot, ZZ (named for ZZ Top.) But an animal control maintenance worker liked ZZ so much that he adopted the bird before Southwick got to the shelter. And so far, the city has been unable to convince its own employe to give the bird back. Says Deputy City Attorney Christina Checel: "I can't go into specifics. It's turned into a personnel matter." The Press-Telegram has the tale.

* Tuesday update: The Times follow says the employee has flown the coop with ZZ.