Joe rescued pet pigeon Cookie as a nestling back in 2009. Cookie’s parents had built a nest in the apartment garage and his twin had fallen out and been killed by a cat. That broke Joe’s heart and so he brought Cookie in to live with him. They’ve been best friends ever since.

Along the way, Joe rescued another pigeon he named Girl and Cookie and Girl were a happy married pair until she died in January, 2020. Joe reached out to Palomacy to adopt a single lady pigeon for lonesome Cookie and while we were working on that, crisis struck. On the morning of April 18th, Cookie pooped blood. Joe called me in a panic. My first thought was that Cookie might have eaten dyed bird seed which was making his poop look bloody or maybe that Cookie had parasites and needed to be wormed. I asked Joe to text me a photo. Cookie had pooped a lot of blood. I don’t get alarmed easily and I know that pigeons can lose a lot of blood and still be fine but when I saw this, I knew it was 911.

Joe was distraught, terrified that Cookie was dying. Out of work due to COVID19, Joe had no money for a vet bill and, even if there had been, his car would never make it all the way to Medical Center for Birds (MCFB). His best friend was in trouble and he was stuck. Cookie was not Palomacy’s bird but he needed Palomacy’s help. I dropped everything and rushed to pick him up. I called MCFB on the way letting them know I was bringing in an emergency. Despite their being fully booked on a busy Saturday, they said, Drive carefully, see you soon.

I was relieved when I picked up Cookie to find him seemingly stable and not visibly bleeding. I was hopeful we could get to the vets’ in time. And Cookie was so brave. He’d only met me a couple of times and he’d never ridden in a car and yet here he was, whisked away from his home and Joe.

Once we arrived, MCFB welcomed us, at a social distance, in the parking lot and checked Cookie in. I knew he was in the best possible place and I also felt bed for the guy. Nobody enjoys being hospitalized. I told him it would be okay and headed back home. Joe was sick with worry for Cookie and I felt bad for him too.

Health care is expensive for everybody, birds included and I immediately  started asking for donations to help Cookie. (Did you know that many medicines used by vets are the same used by doctors? The COVID19 crisis is driving up the demand and cost for all kinds of drugs and supplies, including many used by vets.)

Cookie was hospitalized at MCFB until Wednesday the 22nd. It was Joe and Cookie’s first time apart in their 11 years together. Cookie was very anemic with a red blood cell count of 20 (45-50 is normal) meaning he’d been bleeding internally. His white cell count was 30,000 so he was fighting an infection too.

Dr. Galusha did a barium study which showed that his intestines were displaced by a big, unidentifiable mass.

The vets suspected cancer and Dr. Speer donated x-rays to refine the diagnosis. They showed a very large testicular mass, likely cancerous. Cookie was given a Lupron (hormone) shot in order to try and shrink the mass. His internal bleeding had subsided but it was a puzzling symptom. Pooping blood didn’t really make sense in his case. Finally, five days after his emergency arrival, he was ready to go home. His bill, after our rescue discount and with the donated x-rays, was $1,404. Together, Joe and five generous Palomacy donors have raised $560 towards it. (You can help Cookie by donating here.)

Cookie was stable and the best place for him would be back home with Joe. I picked him up and it was much more fun driving Cookie back than it was driving him away. He and Joe had a very happy reunion. Joe was nervous about the meds he’d have to give twice daily but knew it had to be done. Cookie had a good week and when he went back for his recheck on April 29th, his red blood cell count had doubled! He was a rock star!

And then, on May 1st, Cookie pooped blood again. I rushed him back to MCFB and he was hospitalized again. Dr. Speer suggested that maybe Cookie was peeing blood rather than pooping it… A fecal exam proved that to be the case. And it made much more sense for a testicular tumor to cause blood in the urine. Cookie’s mass was invading his ureter. Drs. Speer and Galusha conferred and after conversations with Joe, it was decided tha Cookie would receive chemotherapy in the hopes of shrinking his tumor and extending his life. Cookie tolerated the delicate intravenous process well and I picked him up and delivered him back home to Joe on 5/5. Today, two weeks later, Cookie is doing great. He’ll be going back for a recheck to assess the mass and likely another chemo treatment. Cookie’s vet bill is currently $2,405 and will go up again. How much is a best friend worth? Cookie’s person Joe writes,

hello my name is joe bertolucci,in my apt garage in 2009 two pigeons who had deformed feet gave birth to 2 baby pigeons on top of our garage door motor,one baby fell off and was eaten by a cat it broke my heart so i took the other pigeon in my apt and have had him ever since.how i came up with the name cookie i dont remember.he has been my best friend for 11 yrs he even sleeps with me sometime in 2009 i came down with pigeon lung diaease since then i have diabestes and heart disease. i’m 61 now doctors have told me to get rid of him for many years because of damage to my lungs but i couldnt do it because of my love for him.my lungs are not good but i have no regrets and would do it all over again.he has been my best friend including humans for 11 years.saturday i noticed blood in his stool called an angel of a lady named elizabeth what she did for me and for my cookie not many would have done.she drove to the vet hospital in oakley about 70 miles where she lives she gone and forth from there to home many times for me.cookie has a large mass first the doctor thought it was in his stomach which there would have been no hope to save him.more tests were done today and found the mass was in his testicles which the great doctor holly galusha said would him a better chance in surgery but he is anemic and 11 yrs old so there is still a risk that he might not make it thur surgery but i love him with all my heart so im willing to try.i work as a letter carrier for 31 yrs in sf but have been off work for 3 months doctors order,he said with my lung condition and low immune system i would be at high risk to get the coronavirus.i am barely living pay check to pay check and cant afford to pay for the surgery to try and save my cookies life.he is my life i would rather die myself than to see him die.i humbling ask all of you caring pigeon friends to please donate  whatever little you can to help pay for my cookies surgery,i know times are very tough for everyone right now but whatever you can give to save my best friends life i would be most grateful to all of you the rest of my life.sincerely joe paul bertolucci.

We need to raise $1,845 to pay off Cookie’s bill (to date). If you can help, this is the link to our donation page. Thank you.

UPDATE May 27th, 2020 

Cookie is doing great! I transported him to Medical Center for Birds for his recheck and second chemotherapy treatment of Carboplatin with Dr. Speer who said, “This bird simply appears to be doing fabulously!”  I took him straight back home to Joe and they are so happy to have this time together. Cookie’s next treatment and re-imaging will be in mid June. Cookie’s outstanding bill is $2,056. Please donate if you can help.

UPDATE September 30th, 2021