"I felt just cold dread," Amy Maatouk told the Chicago Tribune. "She's flown away before due to our mistakes, but usually it's just to the backyard tree and back. The fact that this was so far from home was scary."
The sisters, with help from their family and members of the community, tracked Luna's movements through Niles for the next three days, but the bird consistently refused to come down from high branches of trees.
Peter Babikan, an operations officer for the Niles Police Department, saw Luna fly past his office window on her third day of wandering the village. He contacted the Niles Animal Hospital, which summoned the Maatouks to the scene.
Babikan also called in a Niles Public Works crew with a bucket truck to attempt to reach Luna in a tall tree in a parkway near the Niles Rain Garden.
Babikan, a former animal control officer, volunteered to go up in the bucket truck, but Luna flew off again when he came within inches of grabbing her.
Luna fled to a tree across the street, where her owners were finally able to coax her into returning to their arms.
"I'm glad she cooperated and didn't get too scared off by all the semi trucks and firetrucks driving by," Babikan said. "And I'm glad we got in touch with the owner. We probably wouldn't have gotten her without the owner."
The Village of Niles shared photos from the rescue operation on Facebook.
The Maatouks said Luna is recovering from her three days on the loose and will soon return to the veterinary clinic -- but this time in a harness to make sure she doesn't fly away.
