Guest Post by Hannah K
Freddie, so weak & exhausted, the day he was brought to us
It was a busy Sunday afternoon at work. I walked in to find a box on the table with a scared little face peering out of it.
My colleague and I carefully opened the box and got him out. He was a very big pigeon but I remember thinking how light he was for his size. I immediately got him some bird seed and water and watched him tuck into it with a voracious appetite. He only weighed 200 grams when he should have weighed 400. He was a domestic pigeon, emaciated from being lost with no one to feed him.
Freddie was very happy to finally have food & water
Once he was more comfortable, we started to check him over. We saw his leg bands and determined that he was a racing pigeon. The lovely gentleman that found him had mentioned that he could not fly. I felt worried as I knew that he was most likely lost and injured with babies or a mate somewhere far away.
I called the number on his leg band and offered to adopt him. The owner was happy with this as he did not want him if he was unable to fly.
It was straight to the bird vet on Wednesday. Luckily he seemed physically healthy, asides from being severely underweight. We decided to keep him in hospital to build his strength up and then do some tests.
His blood test results came in on Saturday night and it was not good. He was anaemic, liver enzymes elevated and had Haemoproteus (a blood parasite). Unfortunately treatment options were very limited as the medications needed were not available in Australia. We still had hope though as we heard some pigeons could still lead a relatively healthy life with this condition.
We made the decision on Sunday to bring him home, as we were worried he was getting stressed and overwhelmed. We would continue supportive care at home and try to continue looking for other medications.
It was so wonderful having him back with us. My husband and I spent all afternoon holding him and telling him how much we loved him. We also named him Freddie, a name close to our hearts.
That night, he suddenly passed away in my arms. I cried and cried. One part of me felt silly for grieving. After all, I had only known him for a very short amount of time. But now I realise that this is what pigeons do; they touch our hearts in ways we cannot understand with their gentle and loving nature. I hope more people will have the honour of experiencing how special they are. I feel lucky to have had Freddie and I am glad that he passed away surrounded by love.
Rose, Ashley, Gwenn and Elizabeth from Palomacy provided me unwavering support and compassion during this difficult time. I will be forever grateful for all their help.
Hannah is a huge animal lover from down under (aka Australia).
Editor’s Note: Pigeon racing is a cruel “sport” in which many thousands of domestic Homer pigeons are bred, suffer and die trying to fly hundreds of miles back to their home so that humans can gamble on which might get home fastest. Learn more here.
