A story with a happy ending

[Lovebirds]

Below is the "conversation" that transpired between myself and a wonderful lady who rescued a pigeon. Her name is Lori. I've invited her to join us here, but don't know if she will. I hope so. Anyway, I had tears in my eyes more than once with this one. We did some private e-mailing and she's a wonderful lady and is going to make a GREAT pigeon mom. This is just a taste of the wonderful things that 911 does. Just think about what might have happened to this bird if we weren't there. Ellen, I've never said it but I'm sure glad that someone (YOU) had the forethought for such a program.



Hi,
I found a pigeon that was insisting on standing in the middle of the road in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Got him out of the road once, he was chased by a cat, then flew away – just to come back into the middle of the road again. As cars were trying to avoid him, I decided he’d be safer if I took him home to try to find his owner. He (or she) is banded, but the band doesn’t have any lettering on it. It is plain, red colored band. Is there any way of finding out who this bird belongs too?

Lori, thank you for reporting the bird. Without an ID band, there is no way to find the owner of the bird. But, since the bird has some sort of band, it must have belonged to someone. I would suggest putting up flyers maybe or listing it in the lost and found in your local paper. The owner may come forward. Other than that, the only thing we can do is try to find someone who is willing to adopt it. Of course you have that option if it's something you would consider. They do make great pets. Let me know what course of action you want to take, and we'll work it out. Thank you. Renee

Hi,

Thanks for writing back to me. What happened was that I also called the American Pigeon Association (?) and they also stated that without band numbers they couldn’t find the owner and to give the bird a few days rest and then release him and he would fly home. Well, I did that – released him in a soccer field with plenty of room and came back to check on him in an hour to see if he was still there or had flown away. He was back in the road and had been hit by a car. He was still alive with one eye badly injured and his neck seemed out of alignment. I wasn’t sure if he’d make it, so I took him home again and kept him safe. I then got the number from my vet of a veterinarian who worked with birds and brought him to that animal hospital. That is where he is now, although they took him in as a “wildlife” case and I had to surrender him and they said if they couldn’t rehabilitate him that they put him to sleep. Well, after saving him twice out of the road I’ve become very attached to him and didn’t want to see him destroyed, so I called them back to see if I could take him back if they couldn’t rehabilitate him as an alternative to destroying him. The vet gave me her card and I’ve been calling to check on him. The latest update today is that the swelling in the eye has gone down, but he is still not opening it, but he’s putting on weight and is doing well.

I am so sorry to hear about this poor birds misfortune. I truly hope he recovers fully. These birds are pretty tough characters. I expect he will make it. So, are you going to leave the bird at the animal hospital or are you going to bring the bird home? You know they do make great pets. Let me know what the plans are so I can adjust my file accordingly. Thank you so much for saving this bird 2 times. Renee

Hi Renee,
I have asked the animal hospital if I could take it home instead of them putting it down if they can’t rehabilitate him. They said they don’t see a problem with that, so if they can’t get him to a point to be able to fly on his way, then I will take him home as a pet. I can keep you informed as to his final destination – it will either be flying on his way home, or with me as a pet. If he does get to a point where they are going to release him to fly home, I’m going to ask if I can be there so I can go to the nearest road and make sure he doesn’t fly into the road again….I don’t know what attraction the road has for him, but he keeps flying into the road and standing right in the middle!

Lori, thanks again for the info. I'm going to give you a link that you should check out when you have time to read a bit. A really cute heartwarming story of a pet pigeon. I'll look forward to hearing the outcome. Would there be any way for you to get a picture of the bird? It might make a difference in what you do if we knew what kind of pigeon this bird is. It may be a show type and has no homing instinct at all, therefore, releasing it would just put it right back where it was before you intervened. Renee

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/...ePijStory.html

Thanks for the link. If I do get to keep him, I’ll need all the info I can get to make sure he has a good life with me. I planned to take a picture of him before I gave him to the hospital, but I forgot. I did buy a pigeon book to try to help me with the feeding while I had him and a picture in there that looked like him was that he is grey with an iridescent purple/reddish band around his lower neck (that’s all I remember right now). I do believe though, that if he keeps flying into the road, he might not be a good candidate to let loose again – in that case, how do they get their exercise?

[Lovebirds]

Lori, go to http://www.pigeon-life.net/ I'm a member of that web site. In fact, all the moderators here on 911 are member there. There is a whole bunch of us there that have pigeons. Some race thiers, most have them as pets, but you'll get all the help you'd ever want. You could even tell your story there. They would LOVE it. I hope you get to keep him. Sounds like it was meant to be to me...Renee

Renee,
I can’t thank you enough for all your help! I just read the “Bernie story” and loved it. His story reminds me so much of my little guy – me stopping traffic while I tried to get him out of the middle of the road. I will definitely check out that website. From the pictures on the Bernie’s story pages, it looks like he might be a Rock Dove – the coloring matches completely.
I hope I get to keep him as well – I remember crying as I left the vet’s office thinking I had just signed him off to his death. I know he’s in the best place right now medically, but am quietly hoping that they will decide that if he can’t return to his former life, life as a well-loved house pigeon will not be so bad.
I will keep you posted as to his fate….and mine.

Lori,
The fact the bird has a band on it's foot should prove to them that this is not just feral pigeon that ran on some bad luck. It DID belong to someone at one time and putting it back out in the wild when it's used to having someone feed it and take care of it is a death sentence. It certainly wasn't born with a red band on it's foot. I would INSIST that they not turn that bird loose but let you adopt it since we can't find the owner. If they give you a hard time, send me the name and number of the hospital where the bird is and I'll get my co-workers to call them and talk to them. I've not been doing this long enough to be able to explain to them what they can and can't do. But I think they can be persuaded to let you have the bird. Renee

Lori,

Hello, my name is Ellen and I am the Owner of the 911 Pigeon Alert Group, I would be more then happy to assist you further with this wayward little pigeon, I must agree with Renee that it is not in the best interest of this pigeon to be released, this is a domesticated pigeon and chances are if released it will again find it's self in the same situation. Please see if the Vet's office is willing to release the bird to your care, if for any reason they are not we will see what contacts we have in the area and will do what ever we can to get this little one into your safe hands.

Thanks so much for all your care and concern of this little one we deeply appreciate it.

Ellen - Owner/Moderator 911 Pigeon Alert Group

Thank you Renee, I appreciate your follow through on all my emails. I
did get an email from Ellen and will definitely pursue with the vet to
have them release him back into my care when he is ready to leave the
hospital. Ellen made a good point that since he was banded that means
he belonged to someone and is used to having someone take care of him
and feed him and letting him loose to fend for himself might not be the
best course of action for him.

Thanks again - I will keep in touch.

Thank you Ellen. I will keep very visible to the vet’s office. The person who took him said she didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t give him to me if he couldn’t be rehabilitated instead of putting him down, but I think you make a good point that if he’s used to having someone feed him and take care of him, letting him loose again might not be in his best interest. When I brought him to the vet’s they said he was skinny – proof that he wasn’t getting the nourishment that he needed out in the big, wide world. I’m going to be bringing some pigeon food over to the vet’s office for them, so I’ll try to get a chance to talk to the person taking care of him – she’s a wildlife caretaker.
Thank you so much for your interest and offer to get involved if I run into trouble trying to get him back. It’s so good to know that organizations like yours are out there to help those of us trying to help the creatures of this world.
I will keep you informed of my progress.

Lori, hope everything works out. You can keep me informed. Have wondered about you and the bird a few times today. Good luck. Renee

I went on Friday to drop off some more pigeon food for him. I had a chance to speak with the woman who is tending to him. She said that she doesn’t think he’s going to regain the use of his eye. He’s still not opening it and she said it looks all dark in there. She wants the vet to look at him once more today to make the determination. Then she asked if I still wanted to take him if they were to release him to me and I told her yes. She said that she’s going to worm him, but that he’s eating very well and is getting more spunky. She wants me to call her this afternoon after the vet has a chance to see him today.

That is GREAT news. I can't wait until you tell me you've taken that poor baby home. Please let me know when you do. You have been so terrific. Thank you so much. Renee

Just got the good news that I can take him home. They say that he basically doesn’t have an eye on the side that he was hit, so they won’t let him go because he would be easy prey for hawks, etc. So, yippee!!! I’ll be picking him up next week!

ALL RIGHT!!!! Believe it or not, I was just going to send you an e-mail asking about "the bird"....who needs a name.....LOL. That is great news. Let me know when you pick him up. What a lucky bird........Renee

Yes, a friend of mine suggested “Walter” for Walter Pigeon!!! I don’t know if that’s how he spells his last name or not, but we’ll see!!!

Now, do you think I need to build him something outside so he can exercise? I’ve read a couple of the articles on the websites and it seems that many people keep their pet pigeons inside the house. I definitely want him inside most of the time so he can bond with me and have some company, but what about exercise? I’m looking on the websites and am picking up books to help me take the best care of him that I can.

Lori, did you ever pick up Walter?
Renee

Hi Renee,
Yes, I picked him up yesterday. He looks really good, except for his poor left eye, which is just a tiny slit. They don’t think there’s any eye left in there. Bad news is that when I brought him home, the whole first hour all he did was try to get out of his cage. Right now I have him in a dog crate about 3ft wide by 4ft long and probably 3ft high. He kept sticking his head out of the slots and flapping his wings and climbing the bars. I felt so bad for him, but after an hour he settled down, started eating and took a little nap. At the vet’s they had him out in their little wildlife area which is about the size of two dog kennels, made of that same material. All their wild birds are free in there to fly around and perch on limbs they have inside. So, he was used to a large area with other birds. I’m going to try to make something similar for him at my house so he can go outside, under the trees, and experience nature, but I will keep him in the house for his basic housing. The lady that was taking care of him at the vet’s said that once he went into this outside pen, he got more independent and didn’t like to be handled as much, so I’m hoping keeping him in the house and socializing with him will keep him tame. He listens to my voice when I talk to him even across the room. I now have him in my living room so that he can be in the middle of the house activities and not alone in a far off room. When I left this morning he was perching happily.

Lori, I'm glad to hear you finally got him home. It's going to take some time for him to get used to his new surroundings. He's been through alot in the last three weeks or so. I'm going to close this case now. If you need ANYTHING, you can e-mail me or call me. If you don't really need anything, an update once in a while would be good.(hint hint) LOL. Good luck with him. Don't forget about the web site either. http://www.pigeon-life.net/ Thanks for all you've done for this little guy. I'm going to mark him OFFICIALLY ADOPTED. YES!! I'm so happy for him. Renee

[mr squeaks]

WHAT a great story, Renee! Thanks so much for posting! I KNOW Lori will soon have ONE SPOILED pigeon! Walter has found a wonderful home!

I sure hope she decides to post here and let us know how Walter is doing! She'll find all the support she needs or could ever want!

Of course, the stories we tell... She'll feel right at home!

[TAWhatley]

What a wonderful story with a very happy ending! I was following it on 911 Pigeon Alert, but it's so nice to see the whole saga retold here. Well done, Renee and Lori! This 911 stuff kinda gets to you, doesn't it ??

Terry

[Feather]

Renee,

That is such a touching story. Thank u for sharing.

I have been wondering how your little ones did on their release. Oh I forgot to tell you what a great job you did with Lori's situation. You are knowledgeable, patient and kind. Just the kind of help that Lori needed. I hope we will be seeing her on this forum, and learning more about her Walter.

Feather

[Trees Gray]

Hi Renee,

Thank you for sharing that tearfull, yet heartwarming story. I am sure this sweety will adapt to his new life, as pigeons will adjust to life without one eye, as I have several myself.

Tell Lori, she is more then welcome to join us, and we will answer any question she may have. I appreciate and want to thank her for helping this needy pigeon.

You and everyone working on 911 Pigeon Alert are to be commended for the wonderful work that you do!

[Maggie-NC]

Renee, bless your heart and Lori's too. What a wonderful story.

[Vasp]

A wonderful, touching story. She really has to come here and post, I think!

[maryjane]

That's the best kind of story Keep up the great work!

[Lovebirds]

Thank you all. I knew you would all love it. I didn't really do that much, Lori is the one with the big heart that didn't turn her back on the poor baby when he needed someone. Just think of all the people who passed that bird in the road, not once but on two different occasions and just kept going and have probably to this day never given it a second thought. There are the "Lori's" of the world and then there are others that you could just CHOKE!!!. I've just gotten one of those on 911 and had to walk away from the computer before I answered them back or I was going to get fired. LOL Such is life I guess...............

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by Feather

Renee,
I have been wondering how your little ones did on their release.

Feather

I won't go into the datails but it didn't go so very well. Out of 72 birds, we've got 8 missing and this is the 5th day, so I don't hold out much hope of seeing them. I can only hope that someone will find them and try to find the owner. Thanks for asking.

[Maggie-NC]

Renee, I had been wondering about them too. Where were they released?

[Lovebirds]

A mile and a half from here. There's 7 missing now. One just came in a few minutes ago. He's a bag of bones, but he made it home. I'll have to go start a thread and tell you all what happened.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Renee,

Thanks for sharing this great story with our forum. Lori sounds just like the kind of lady who would enjoy PigeonLife She's probably going to have a lot of questions about the care and well being of "Walter".

Has Walter completely recovered in the neck area? Lori had mentioned that his neck was out of alignment or something after being hit. So I'm just curious to know if there were any residual problems that way.

Thanks again for this wonderful rescue story and for showing us what great work is being accomplished over at Pigeons 911

[Lovebirds]

I really don't know. His eye is the only thing she ever mentioned after taking him to the hospital. I'll ask her next time I e-mail her.