Guest Post by Chava Sonnier

Jonah helping Zach

I am truly in awe of the incredible service and resources Palomacy provides not only in person but also across the miles and across the globe! I have been involved in bird rescue and rehab for many years, and noticed a need within our area for rehab focused on pigeons, and thus have been trying to learn as much as possible about these remarkable birds. You can imagine my joy and relief when a friend added me to the Palomacy rescue Facebook group, where I discovered a wealth of knowledge in a truly caring environment focused on the most important priority, namely, the well being of birds and all living creatures.

I reached out to Palomacy’s Facebook community on behalf of Jonah Pidge because he appeared to have lost the use of both legs. Jonah Pidge was brought to my husband and I late on a Saturday night severely emaciated, crusted with grit and other such city dirt, and so weak that he was laying on his side and couldn’t hold his head up on his own. He had extensive cuts and scrapes along both legs and his underside, which later made sense when we realized he likely had been attempting to drag himself around on the rough city surfaces.

Jonah beginning his recovery

We focused first on simply stabilizing Jonah Pidge, and after a few days of care (tube feeding, antibiotics, baths, cleaning and dressing the wounds) he regained his strength at a remarkable rate and had begun eating on his own, but both legs remained limp and unresponsive. A trip to the avian vet confirmed that he was most likely suffering neurological trauma along with the additional challenge of two old, badly healed and fused fractures in his left leg that caused his left leg to stick out at nearly a right angle from his body.

 

Jonah concentrates on healing

The wonderful members of Palomacy’s Facebook group provided a remarkable outpouring of advice, ideas, encouragement, and brainstorming as we strove to help Jonah Pidge heal. Our newfound Palomacy friends directed us to the helpful examples of similar cases on Palomacy’s website, messaged late night ideas for Jonah’s physical therapy, and even mailed custom garments to help keep Jonah Pidge spotlessly clean and healthy while he was unable to move himself.

Thus we ventured hopefully down the road of several weeks of Jonah Pidge resting in a towel doughnut to keep pressure off of his legs and underside, and twice daily hydrotherapy in the hopes he might regain mobility. Because he was a wild/feral city pigeon before his injury I worried the change to home life would be too hard for him, but pigeons never cease to amaze me with their adaptive poise… Such joy the first day Jonah Pidge felt both strong enough and at home enough in his “nest” to give me a solid Wing Fu slap! Even more amazing was when he started to respond to being gently held and petted with contented coos! I wanted to make sure he had as much mental stimulation and enrichment as possible despite his lack of mobility, and fortunately I work from home so Jonah Pidge and I soon fell into a habit of my either carrying him around the house wherever I went or rolling him with me from room to room as he rode regally in his towel doughnut on a rolling desk chair!

 

Jonah & his stuffy

While my husband and I have had the honor of meeting dozens of pigeons thus far in our rehab journey, after a time they either passed away (birds need hospice care too!) or fortunately more often recovered and were able to be released (in the case of wild pigeons only) or adopted (in the case of domestic pigeons or non-releasable injured wild pigeons). At some point during the course of Jonah’s care we realized he would always be a special needs Pidge, certainly unable to fend for himself properly back in the wild, and thus the first permanent pigeon member of our family had found us. It is truly an honor and privilege to be his human “flock” and watch him flourish, regain weight, regrow his missing feathers, and confidently hop on my hand or into my lap for snuggles. (Jonah Pidge does wear pigeon pants sometimes since he is never caged and has the full run of our pigeon-proofed home, but he gets plenty of pants-free time too.)

 

Happy Jonah

You can clearly see in many of the photos that Jonah’s left leg is at a very abnormal angle… This is one of the reasons Jonah Pidge remained with us instead of being able to be rehabed and released to resume his life as a wild/feral pidge: our avian vet confirmed that his left leg has suffered multiple injuires in his life, including a fracture that she estimates occurred well before the more recent trauma that temporarily paralyzed him and caused a kind person to spot him and bring him to us for rehab, and as an untreated fracture it “healed” and fused improperly, causing his left leg to stick out at a right angle from the side of his body.

I am beyond thrilled to be able to report he’s gained full mobility in both of his legs! His left leg will likely always have some limitations, but the avian vet concluded it doesn’t seem to cause him pain and thus advised against the risks of surgery, so we are continuing to work on his physical therapy and strengthening, and with classic pigeon poise he has adapted remarkably well to a life of fluffy blankets and stuffed animals, snuggles, and having full reign over the house. I am so grateful to Palomacy for offering such helpful insights into Jonah’s care across the miles, and to Jonah Pidge for brightening our lives tremendously!

Jonah, Zach & Ms. Pidge

Jonah outreching for Palomacy at the Solano Stroll

Jonah & Suzy- making friends at the Solano Stroll

 

Chava & Jonah (all healed up) & Zach at Palomacy’s COO-CHELLA!

 

Chava is a clinical informatics nurse and population health management consultant who lives in Fairfield, California with her husband Zach, and the birds who rescued them.