Tweety flew away from his Paisley, Ont., home weeks ago. His owner hopes to get him back for Christmas

All Cassandra Tremblett wants is to bring her bird, Tweety, home for Christmas.

Tremblett of Paisley, Ont., saidher pale yellow cockatielwent missing from his home on Sept. 22. A bird that matched Tweety's description was found in the Kitchener area approximately 125 kilometres south of Paisley on Oct. 6, and someone turned the bird in to the humane society.

That bird has since been adopted out, and Tremblett saidshe's been unable to connect with the new owners to see if it's Tweety.

"My gut tells me this is him," Tremblett told CBC News. "I want to bring him home for Christmas."

Tremblett saidthe bird is an important member of their family. He sits on their shoulders and is "a big foodie."

"Literally when I was cooking dinner, he'd always be in any food that we were trying to cook, even if it was on the stove. He tried to fly on the stove to get to the food," Tremblett said, noting the bird had a particular fondness for Doritos.

She saidTweety would know the sound of her voice, and she's convinced he would fly to her if he heard her.

Human society says bird likely isn'tTweety

The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth saidit did receive a cockatiel in October, but doesn't believe it's Tweety.

A spokesperson said based on photos, they believe the bird brought to them was a different age and had different markings. As well, the bird was missing three toes, which did not appear to be a new injury.

The bird also did not seem to have been socialized with people, the society said.

"We recognize losing a pet is incredibly heartbreaking and not knowing what happened can be additionally stressful," the humane society said in an email to CBC News.

It addedit would not be passing on Tremblett'sdetails to the new adopters.

"We would not contact the new adopters, as again, we do not believe this is the same bird.

"We are very sorry for the woman's loss and hope that her search efforts are one day successful in reuniting her with her pet."

$500 reward offered for cockatiel's return

Tremblett has made numerous social media posts and offered a $500 reward for Tweety's return. She saidif she could just have the opportunity to speak to the bird that was adopted out, she'd know if it was Tweety because he would respond to her voice.

She saideven if the bird adopted out by the humane society isn't Tweety, she hopes by spreading the word, the family's pet can be returned to them.

She knows it's a long shot, but is holding out hope.

"He was a huge part of our family."