Pickles, 3 (Original)(San Francisco, USA) (2024) Painting by Elodie M. Richard

''Catching me admiring a particularly pretty domestic pigeon that had found its way to the wildlife hospital where I work, my colleague smirked and said, “but have you seen the guy on shelf D-3?” I walked over to look and was surprised to find an average looking, grey feral pigeon, just like every one of the 700+ pigeons our hospital sees every year. I love them all, and I rescue a great many of them myself, but I couldn’t see why this one was so special.

A local animal control agency had delivered this bird to us for treatment, and, like so many of them brought in this way, his paperwork was vague and his history was mostly unknown. He seemed skinny and oddly habituated to humans but surely we could fatten and re-wild him as we’d done with so many hand-raised pigeon chicks before him! When he started losing weight rapidly and only seemed to understand how to fly in one straight line—straight to a person’s shoulder—hospital staff knew he would need to be adopted and cared for, never released. He didn’t know how to eat seeds on his own and his flight capability was strangely limited, though he was physically healthy and normal in every testable way.

The BirdRoom Manager named him Pickles, and a friendly skirmish began over who would take him home. By the good graces of the universe, it was I who was given this opportunity. I had some apprehension about taking on another special-needs creature, but it is easily the best decision I have ever made. For almost three years, Pickles has not eaten a single seed that was not placed in his mouth by me. Because of this, he joins our family on every adventure, including camping trips. He stands on my left knee when he’s hungry, and gently pecks my hand to make sure I know he’s ready to eat. He is perpetually busy building nests for himself, and because he doesn’t understand he’s a pigeon, doesn’t want the company of a pigeon mate or to sit on fake eggs. Pickles the Pigeon is arguably the happiest, most loved creature on this planet. He enjoys baths, sunshine, socks, stuffed animals, and anything red. He hates car rides and opossums. We will probably never know why he is so special, only that he is.

I am Dion and we live in San Francisco, CA, USA. I work at WildCare in San Rafael and volunteer with Palomacy''.

Related themes

Story Of Pickles The PigeonRescued Pigeon StoryPigeons Of The UsaIn Defense Of The PigeonsPigeons Are No Pests