Warning: This post contains graphic photos of injuries common to raced pigeons. Or you can read an abbreviated version without graphic images here.
Injured, exhausted, dehydrated, starving racing pigeon Prissy asks for help
Look at her face. This is what an injured, near death raced pigeon looks like begging for human help. These racing pigeons, bred and used as if they were disposable for the “sport”, are domestic. Totally dependent on people. They suffer terribly in so many ways, whether they win or lose, get home or get lost, get hawk-struck or not. Prissy is one of the super-lotto-winning-luckiest.
Your support of Palomacy is what saved this beautiful, brave, smart and terribly wounded self-rescuing raced pigeon. Not even a year old, possibly on her first race, she survived a devastating hawk strike but was nearly dead from infection by the time she got help. This photo shows her weak, desperately seeking help on a stranger’s porch. The kind homeowner reached out to Palomacy and Prissy, as she was named, was immediately rescued by expert volunteer Chava. Chava was able to get Prissy through that critical night by administering sub cu fluids, starting her on antibiotics and pain meds, gently cleaning and bandaging her deep wound and reassuring the exhausted bird with her loving care. Chava gave Prissy reason to hope.
Feathers & wings hide so much. Rescued birds need expert assessment. This under-the-wing injury was badly infected & nearly fatal.
With emergency treatment provided & her wound bandaged, Prissy is as stabilized as possible to get through the night.
Though much better off than she had been, Prissy was still in grave danger.
And incredibly Prissy made it through the night, wowing us the next morning with her newfound strength. Gone was the defeated, helpless, desperate pigeon. Bright-eyed, hopeful Prissy was standing tall, determined to recover! Chava juggled her schedule to make the 100 miles rountrip as did our incredible vets at Medical Center for Birds juggle theirs to make emergency room for Prissy to be rushed in and hospitalized immediately.
We were thrilled to see tough Prissy standing tall in the morning!
Prissy’s big, deep chest wound required repeated debrieding by Dr. Rachel Baden, who removed multiple layers of necrotic tissue so that she could begin the long process of healing. After three days in the hospital, Prissy was discharged back to Chava who took her home and expertly continued her wound care for over a month.
Prissy’s deep, infected wound required extensive medical care
Post-op Prissy waking up from anesthesia in Dr. Baden’s loving hands
Prissy, shown hospitalized at MCFB, responded brilliantly to vet care. Look at the difference in her posture, her face, her eye…
Prissy’s long recovery continued back home in Chava’s expert medical foster care
Miracle bird! Thank you for enabling Palomacy to save Prissy’s life when no one else would!
Prissy & Chava celebrating the healing!
Fostering is fun for the whole family!
Chava writes, Prissy was a perfect patient and has made a complete recovery. She can even fly again! And now she has moved into a foster-to-adopt home with a family who loves her so much! She follows them into the dining room at dinner time so they give her her own seat at the table and they prep her a little dish of something she can eat each night, like a little cooked brown rice, chopped bell pepper, etc, and she eats dinner with the family every night.
Prissy getting all the love!
Saved! Safe! Loved!
Prissy is just one of the 387 birds you’ve helped Palomacy save so far in 2020. And our volunteer team of Help Group Moderators has assisted thousands of others from all over the country and beyond!
Your support truly makes a critical, unique, life and death difference.
Right now, while GlobalGiving’s biggest ever GivingTuesday bonus match is happening, your donation will help more than ever. Donations up to $2500 made between 9 PM PT tonight and 9 PM PT Tuesday 12/1 will earn a bonus match. (You can see our progress on the leaderboard.)
Thank you for all that you do to help Palomacy help birds and the people who love them.
You make all the difference.
