Photo: John and Suzanne’s Mom.
Pigeon art at a Boston construction site, 2014.
Pigeons get no respect. They certainly make a mess when they congregate in places where people also congregate. More often than not, human interaction is confined to efforts to get rid of pigeons, or Rock Doves, even though they are actually very pretty. Sometimes I wonder if they would be less hated if we ever saw their babies. They seem to be born fullgrown!
Cathy Free wrote recently about one pigeon at the Washington Post.
“Brooke Ciardi was in the yard of an animal shelter taking photos of dogs to help them get adopted when she suddenly felt something on her head. It was a pigeon that had swooped in and landed in her hair. Ciardi was moderately alarmed to have the bird on her head, but the pigeon seemed perfectly content.
“ ‘I was surprised because this pigeon had no fear of the dogs and no fear of people,’ said Ciardi, who works as an outreach coordinator for the Montgomery County Animal Services & Adoption Center in Derwood, Md. …
“Ciardi soon learned that the pigeon had recently become a regular at the shelter, hitching rides from the parking lot to the building on employees’ heads, shoulders or fanny packs, and refusing to hop down unless forced to. ‘She’d ridden on people to come inside the building at least five times, and they kept having to put her outside,’ Ciardi said. ‘I said, “This isn’t right — she seems to be a pet.” ‘
“Ciardi said her supervisor … decided that Valley — the name staffers chose for the rock pigeon — would make a good pet for the right person. So on April 2, about a week after the bird first landed on an employee’s shoulder, she was put up for adoption. …
“The pigeon’s friendly nature indicated that she had probably been domesticated as a fledgling, Ciardi said. ‘She’s a young pigeon, and pigeons can have a long life span of about 15 years,’ Ciardi said. …
“During World War I and World War II, carrier pigeons were used to transport secret messages from combat zones to their home coops. ‘They have such an interesting history, and they’re really smart,’ Ciardi said. ‘It used to be that they were bred and domesticated to work alongside us in the same way that dogs do. … I think it’s in their DNA to want to be among us.’
“Ciardi and her co-workers agreed it was important to find a good home for Valley. On April 2, Ciardi posted a notice on Facebook that the pigeon was up for adoption. …
“Ciardi then wrote about the bird descending on her in the rain and remaining calm when curious dogs approached.
“ ‘It was finally decided that with her love for human company and lack of survival skills, Valley would really like to be put up for adoption,’ Ciardi posted. ‘Well, she came to the right place!’
“About 850 followers liked the post, and several people mentioned that they wished they could adopt Valley. CBS affiliate WUSA9 covered the quest to find the pigeon a permanent home. …
“Two days after the Facebook post, a woman in New Jersey decided Valley would be a perfect pet for her two young boys. Keryn Rosenberger drove three hours to Montgomery County from South Amboy, N.J., to adopt Valley. …
“Rosenberger is a single mom, and she said her parents kept birds as pets when she was young. She thought Valley would be a good fit for her family. … Rosenberger said she bought some cloth pigeon diapers online for Valley, along with a harness and leash for public outings.”
More at the Post, here.
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