Yep. You heard me. As if the four dogs on the euthanasia list that I pulled out of the pound and sent to forever homes down south weren’t enough (I just made that sound innocuous and easy but it isn’t).
Back to the pigeon.
I was on my way to a meeting down in DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass, for those who don’t know), when I passed a small pigeon who was hopping and chirping along. I noticed he looked a little raggedy. I happened towards him but he didn’t fly away. His wings looked clipped and he was missing at least a third of his feathers.
My hands were tied. I couldn’t exactly pick him up and bring him to the meeting with me, so I snapped this photo and walked away.
This busted up little fella broke my heart.
Later, I told a friend about the bird and she said, “let’s go get him.” She gave me the green light I needed to do the right thing. (Thanks Mary).
We went back to the spot with an over-sized cardboard box and surgical gloves and the little guy was still there. Only this time he had company. His buddy (or mama pigeon) was hovering real close and trying to protect him from us.
I’ve always loved that birds travel in two’s and so I hated having to split them up. But I hated even more the thought of some jerk coming by and kicking him out of the way, or that an SUV might run him over. So I scooped him up, made my case for a free hotdog bun from the non-English speaking hotdog-cart-lady, finished up at another meeting and then schlepped the big cardboard box with said small pigeon on the subway during rush hour to a vet hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Thanks to PJ of Empty Cages Collective, he will be examined by Dr. Pilny tomorrow morning.
Over the past few days I’ve received very generous donations for the dogs I’ve pulled out of the shelter and so I did the same for PJ’s rescue group. In this case, what goes around comes around and hopefully flies around, again.
So good that you did that!! I’m the same way — I can’t count how many pigeons/sparrows/snails/cats I have gone in to help.. When I am rushing to get somewhere I am almost scared to look around in fear of spotting a creature that needs attention.. So awesome that you saved that little guy!
-Kate
Hi Kate! That’s too funny, I can completely relate to rushing to get some place while trying to avoid spotting a creature that needs help! The worst is road-kill on a highway. Provided it’s in a spot where oncoming traffic is not going to kill me, I always try and stop to move them to a safer spot like the grass or brush so it can return to the earth. I carry around a box of surgical gloves and a couple of towels in my car just for that reason! xo Ree
I should keep a box of surgical gloves.. I do almost always have a can of cat food in my bag and numbers for emergency vets in my phone.. Being a native New Yorker, even in my 30’s I am pathetically without a license so I don’t have to deal with road kill, but thats so great of you that you move them out of the way, poor things.
Thanks for your comment and love the site! xokate
I was so happy to find your blog because my husband is Palestinian and we live in Brooklyn, Im obsessed with helping animals and we are thinking about starting a family soon and you named your son our favorite boys name.. it was like blog-fate!
It makes me smile to know there are folks like you in the world. Just yesterday, as I was leaving my clinic (had taken in Emma for some vaccines on my day off) I saw a dog in the parking lot. I handed our dog to my husband (having no idea if the dog would be aggressive to me, let alone my innocent Emma) and sidled up until I could grab the dogs leash. I looked around but didn’t see an owner so walked the dog into the clinic and handed him off to our receptionist to call the owner’s tags and keep him safe in a dog run until the owner showed up. Plenty of people would say it was stupid and dangerous, but my JOB is being the animal advocate. I knew there was the risk of the dog being aggressive, but I couldn’t just let him wander around and potentially get hit by a car. And as it turns out he was very sweet, and I am pretty sure the owner pulled in just as we were pulling out.