Joshua and I have been enjoying our weekend picnics with the dog. Yesterday's picnic at FDR park was especially great because our neighbors, Randy and Erin, joined us and they always have good snacks.
While we were there, we found a domesticated dove who was stuck in the grass with clipped wings and an "eat me" sign on his back. Erin captured the dove to bring it to an emergency shelter. We love how much she loves animals! The dove, if it ends up living with them, will be the second of their odd rescues. Their first is a 4-foot iguana named Bud who likes to sun himself on the windowsill like all of the neighborhood cats.
As an update to the dove story, I wanted to include text from an email Erin sent in response to my question of "how is the dove doing?"...
Doing great! S/he had a good vet exam yesterday at lunchtime, just needs a little medicine but nothing major. The vet says this is definitely a pet bird, and it does not know how to fly even though its wings are not clipped. They said it has not been outdoors long, and seems to have been attacked by something while still in captivity- it has a lot of feathers that were pulled out but are now growing back, and a scratch on its neck. :( But no mites, ticks, or internal parasites, which is very unusual for a bird if it's been in the wild a long time.
Not sure if it's a girl or boy, but it is probably a girl, the vet says. The vet gave us some samples of pet dove food, it's very colorful and looks like tiny crumbs of Fruit Loops. Well, the bird certainly knew what THIS food was, and started eating them. I guess that's the kind of food it's used to.
Randy and I put a clear tupperware of water next to it on the floor, and it hopped up on the rim and started drinking. It was so cute.
Randy has really come around to the idea of keeping the birdie and has even thought of some fun names. I think we'll see if its a boy or girl before picking- maybe you can help us vote for a name. :) Some front-runners at the moment are Pearl, Franklin, Percy, Pedro, Niblet, Pinky, Chloe, Sam, Henry, and Snowflake. Randy has also suggested Loki, Obi Wan and Jeff, all of which I like- Jeff is a hilarious name for a bird. My family suggests Powder, and thinks I am crazy to get another pet.
I've been checking lost ads online, and nobody seems to be missing this bird. I'll keep checking, but it doesn't seem likely. Tonight we're going to Petsmart to get a cage, some perches, and some more food. I tried craigslist and freecycle, but nobody has responded to my e-mails, so I think it's easier to just buy one.
I saw you in your yard yesterday and was going to tell you how the dove was, but you were on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt. We'll be out shopping tonight, but should be home around 9-ish- come over and see the birdie if you want!
E
Joshua and I already voted for the name Jeff. Best dove name ever.
3 comments:
If your friends have not already bought a cage, I have one of reasonable size that I haven't used for years. I doubt I will get another pet bird. You can give them my phone #.
Love the update - Erin is so cute. Perhaps you can add a 2nd vote for Flynn - that way the name could stay close to your family and not sounds as much like an ailment... :)
I agree -- Erin is so cute.
Like I said, I may use Flynn as a middle name, just so we can be insulting ;)
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