An 8-year-old parakeet survived being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, doctors at the Angell Medical Center in Boston reported Monday.Birdie, the pet of Marie Margarone of Milton, had crawled into a wet/dry vacuum cleaner moments before Margarone turned it on.The parakeet suffered major injuries including the loss of blood and a broken wing. The budgie was "barely conscious" when Margarone brought her to Angell."I was convinced that Birdie wouldn't make it given how violently she was thrown around the canister, but she's a member of my family just as my other pets are, and I wanted to do everything I could to help her," said Margarone.X-rays determined that the parakeet's left wing was so badly fractured that the only way to save her was to partially amputate it. In a one-hour surgery Dr. Simone-Freilicher removed 25 percent of Birdie's wing."Birdie has come a very long way since she sustained these injuries," she said. "I'm hugely impressed with this small bird's strength."After a day recovering from the surgery, Birdie was taken back to her Milton home."Obviously we'll ensure she stays well clear of the vacuum from here on out," said Margarone.

An 8-year-old parakeet survived being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, doctors at the Angell Medical Center in Boston reported Monday.

Birdie, the pet of Marie Margarone of Milton, had crawled into a wet/dry vacuum cleaner moments before Margarone turned it on.


The parakeet suffered major injuries including the loss of blood and a broken wing. The budgie was "barely conscious" when Margarone brought her to Angell.

"I was convinced that Birdie wouldn't make it given how violently she was thrown around the canister, but she's a member of my family just as my other pets are, and I wanted to do everything I could to help her," said Margarone.

X-rays determined that the parakeet's left wing was so badly fractured that the only way to save her was to partially amputate it. In a one-hour surgery Dr. Simone-Freilicher removed 25 percent of Birdie's wing.

"Birdie has come a very long way since she sustained these injuries," she said. "I'm hugely impressed with this small bird's strength."

After a day recovering from the surgery, Birdie was taken back to her Milton home.

"Obviously we'll ensure she stays well clear of the vacuum from here on out," said Margarone.