Guest Post by Ari Wee

One of my favorite memories ever was being 10, free, and feeding the masses of pigeons of Piazzo San Marco. Aptly dressed in a yellow puffy coat, pigeons were descending on me from all sides to feed on the corn in my hands and to hopefully explore my jacket. Fast forward about 18 years. Pigeons have always been a fascination to me. Exotic birds to this suburban kid, I had proudly put self made pigeon posters in my college dorm and then my first office. Pigeons were always associated with a lighter, warmer, cozy time in my life. I got older though. And life got heavier. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and two bad things happened back to back at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. Diagnosed with PTSD and its friends severe depression and severe anxiety, I was a different person. To get through it I had to tap into something, anything happy. It all started with the pigeons on the balcony. Their cooing and predictable schedule gave me reassurance. We became fast friends when I started feeding them. Soon, it became normal to eat breakfast and lunch with the pigeon couple. They cheered me on with their coos and made me keep a normal human schedule and get to my job on time. And that got me to tap into that Venice memory. Soon, I was looking up if pigeons could be pets because the balcony pigeons, while feral, were so sociable. I soon found Palomacy. My boyfriend took me to an event they had in Japantown in August of 2018. That’s where I met Elizabeth, Borealis, and Cadence. Cadence was a roller pigeon who survived a hawk attack and Borealis was her grounded husband. I fell in love instantly. I just couldn’t get them off my mind. I tried to go to as many events as I could just to see them. I read their stories online. I showed off their pictures.

After many conversations, I convinced my parents to adopt Cadence and Borealis. We all–me, my parents, Cadence, and Borealis–did the big drive home from SF to Dallas, TX to make it in time for Christmas. I’m really grateful for Elizabeth and Palomacy because they helped make my pigeon dreams a reality.

Elizabeth was so warm and welcoming and showed me the ropes of pigeon care–what they eat, how to put on pigeon pants, what a pigeon home should look like, what a healthy pigeon looks like, what an unhealthy pigeon looks like, how to travel with a pigeon, how to handle a pigeon, the list goes on and on. She checked in on us before, during, and after the drive to make sure everyone was adjusting well. I really have never met someone or worked with an organization that cared so deeply for their cause. No question was stupid. No concern was ignored.

I loved my time with Cadence and Borealis so much that when I came back to SF, Elizabeth let me foster a pigeon couple, Gypsy and Fish. Registered as ESA, they live in my bedroom in my apartment. They’ve been amazing companions, they’ve helped me keep a schedule, they get me emotionally ready to get out of bed. I can’t imagine life without them.

And without fail, Palomacy and Elizabeth have been here to hold my hand and answer my questions. And it’s not just Elizabeth. Palomacy itself provides a lot of literature to educate new pigeon parents on the basics and the intricacies of life with pigeon. On top of that, Palomacy has a fantastic network of pigeon parents (foster or adopted) and experts. I can literally ask any question from pigeon healthcare to ESA housing rights and someone will answer or will find someone to answer me. I’ve never felt more supported when adopting an animal. I wish all animal rescues operated like this.

Palomacy does a great job at pigeon advocacy as well. The Palomacy crew gets out into the community to reach all kinds of people to not only debunk the trash dove stereotype but to also open people’s mind to considering these birds as pets and family.

Palomacy is a fantastic group and I truly appreciate what they do for the environment and our community.

Originally posted by Ari Wee as a review on Great Nonprofits 5/1/2019