An Andover teenager has appealed for help in finding ‘her best friend’ after her pet cockatoo went missing.

Molly Young’s Galah, Mina, went missing from her home in Augusta Park at around 1:30pm on Saturday, July 3, after being scared off by a flock of seagulls. Molly has been searching for her fruitlessly since then, and is hoping someone may have found her beloved pet.

“Mina has put the spark back in my life,” the 18-year-old told the Advertiser. “She made me feel the happiest I’ve ever been, and then losing her has made me so distraught.

“I’ve lost that light that I had. Not everyone gets it, but you can have a really strong bond with a pet.”

Galahs are a species of cockatoo native to Australia, with distinctive pink and grey plumage. They are widespread as pets, living for over 40 years in some instances, and forming strong, lifelong bonds with partners and their owners.

According to the World Parrot Trust, Galahs can be identified by a ‘chet chet’ call given every 10 seconds, as well as a loud ‘scree’ noise when fanning their chest.

Mina came into Molly’s life at the end of 2017, and since then they have been inseparable. She is hand tamed, so regularly accompanies Molly when she heads into her back garden.

It was on one of these outings when Mina was scared by a flock of seagulls.

“I can let her in the garden,” Molly said, “and she was on my shoulder, and then the seagulls came down and scared her off. That was the last I saw of her, I haven’t seen or heard of her after then. She flew away from my house and that was it.”

Molly has been searching widely across Andover and further afield, going on walks for hours in an attempt to locate Mina. Sadly, she hasn’t yet found a lead to track her down, leading her to worry that Mina might have been taken by someone else.

Molly is offering a reward for Mina’s safe return, and is asking anyone with potential information about her whereabouts to contact her on 07521904599.