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April 30, 2014
by Elizabeth
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The Story of Homie the WunderBird

Guest Blog Post by Adina Olivares

Adina & Homie

Early in November 2013, while sitting in our truck parked at the grocery store, I noticed a crowd gathering around a woman. I saw that she was holding a bird- a pigeon. She was throwing her arms up, whilst holding the bird, as if to throw it up in the air. My husband, knowing how I am, said, “you better go help her”. So I walked over and learned that the bird ‘fell out of the nest, nearly 20 feet overhead’, and the good-intentioned woman meant to hurl it back up to the nest! Knowing this would not be successful and that likely the bird who fell (or was pushed) out of the nest would plummet back down to the ground, I interceded. I volunteered that I had rescued wild birds in the past and would gladly take the pigeon off her hands. This is how Homie, the WunderBird came into my life.

On the way home, I noticed Homie (short for Homero) was very hot in my hands and knowing that birds either fall or get pushed out of the nest, oftentimes because they are sick/injured I was worried. This was the first of many times, my ignorance in the world of pigeons would come to light. So I took Homero home, who I fully believed was a young adult as he was fully feathered, no yellow beak/red dot, none of the characteristics I have seen in other not-fully-fledged wild birds. (How wrong I was.) Anyway, when we arrived home, in a spare cage Homero went and in the garage he sat. It was too cold in the garage but I just knew he was ill and I did not want to introduce him to my pet birds in the house. So while he waited, I went upstairs and readied a spare bedroom to keep him in while I figured what to do. Up he went to his new bedroom, covered and away from my birds. I then set up a medium dog crate, and in the interim provided him with parrot seed and water. He looked fine? But that temperature was worrisome. So I did two things- went to the pet store for pigeon food and went online to research pigeons. Struck out at the store, so he had to settle for dove food. Found one really interesting fact about pigeons- they have a very hot body temperature (106). So now he went from 100% ill, to maybe/maybe not (why else would he be kicked out of the nest I thought)?

Homie – the early days

Anyway, fast forward a couple of weeks as I will not bore you with the multiple times we attempted releasing Homero into the wild. By now you might wonder, Homero? You named a wild bird? Well let me tell you, everything has to have a name at our house, even when we had a snail come into a pond he had a name: Slo-Poke. (I never said we were brilliant with our naming convention.) So I did my best not to bond with Homero, wanting him to get back to nature, his nature. I even took him out of the cage and had him exercise and do test-flights down the hallway to ensure he could fly. But none of our releases were working, each time we took him out, after doing Pij-Recon to find the perfect spot, he would simply walk back to his cage, look up at us as if to say: Hi, nice visit to the park, huh?

So on the fifth and final release, the weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to this great place! Ok, so it was not in the best part of town and we were a bit worried the police would be called, but there was evidence of pigeons having been around (poop!), lots of places to roost, and we thought, Success is Ours! We put Homero on the ground, my 6ft husband chased him around a bit, clapping his hands, trying to get Homero to fly! Homero thought walking was good and sauntering even better, so that is what he did. Husband running, clapping, Homero sauntering, me trying not to laugh, out loud, too much. I have successfully released many sparrows, scrub-jays, etc. over the years but I was learning just how very much I did not know about pigeons.

Anyway, as we spent an hour waiting for Homero to fly away to pigeon happiness, I happened to look down the path and there was a hawk sitting on a telephone line. You can guess the rest and for this I will forever be sorry and guilty. Before I could yell to my husband to snatch up Homero, the hawk took flight, and my husband who was less than 5ft from Homero, got to him last, after the hawk. We picked up a bleeding, screaming, head-tilting Homero, wrapped him up and had a horrible ride home. Both my hubby and I are in Healthcare, so we did a physical exam, a neuro-check, there did not appear to be a head-injury, no obvious fractures, and the bleeding subsided. So we supported Homero as best we could that night and let him rest, letting the Great Spirit decide his fate, and if he was there in the morning, we would take it from there

Anyway, the next morning, my WunderBird was still alive! He could not lift his head, he could not stand, so then began the ‘Pigeon-ICU, 24 hr care’. (I am an RN and used to work in the ICU, well those skills came in handy I tell you.)

After the hawk strike

Side Note: In contrast with many of our healthcare colleagues and friends, we don’t often seek medical attention, believing we can rely upon our knowledge, good sense, medical experience and Nature to heal us. I have ICU/Trauma Nursing experience and my hubby has EMT and Emergency experience. Also, my initial experience with our local Wildlife center had me convinced Homie would have been euthanized.

I provided hourly feeding, cleaning (he pooped himself) and company. Out the window went the ‘not going to bond’ and instead was the promise, that if Homero made it through this, he would have a Forever Home with us. As time progressed, Homero could stand, kinda, as he wedged himself against the side of the cage, which we adapted so he wouldn’t fall through.

Recuperating from the hawk strike

We put a slick surface on the sides, as eventually he would slide-walk around the perimeter of the cage. As he slowly started to heal, we worked on Physical Therapy (as he had a chronic tilt to his head and I worried about Torticollis). We made sure the cage was safe (shallow water bowl, etc.) as he spent a lot of time falling when he eventually tried to walk, er stumble. He would have definitely gotten a FUI (Flying Under the Influence) ticket had he been out as that boy looked 3 sheets to the wind when he tried to walk.

Homero amazed us every single day with the determination he had. Despite rolling and falling and tripping, he would not give up, so how could we. I received great help and advice on the site Pigeon Talk. I was panicky at the thought of shoving a huge defrosted pea down his throat, but was surprised to learn of how much protein they have, how easily he swallowed them and that he actually liked them. Not sure at what point I found Elizabeth and MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue, but here I was provided even more love and support for Homero (and me). I learned how committed pigeons are to their mates and how Homero needed to be around other birds, so we moved him downstairs and put his cage near my two other birds, BB (rescued Peach-Faced Lovebird) to the right and Maya (Gold-Capped Conure) on his left.

Maya

In addition I purchased Homero a friend to snuggle with- a baby duck stuffed toy. Up till recently, Duckie went everywhere Homero did, and was snuggled and loved quite well by Homero (until he was replaced).

Cuddling with Duckie

As the weeks went by, Homero became Homie (he was staying around, so why not get familiar). He was on the same schedule as BB & Maya. Sleep cages at night, downstairs by a big window during the day. Special ‘pea-times’ with Momma and out-of-cage times as he got better and better. Time progressed and Homie was out of the cage every day flying around the house. Navigation skills, so-so. Landing skills needed some improvement, as did eating skills. Targeting abilities were still off a bit. All chair backs/furniture covered with towels, paper-towels at the ready to clean the many, many, many poops. Homie, well loved, enjoyed his bath times and laying in the sun. We tried Pigeon Pants (for Mommy’s sanity), but Homie hated it so we relied on paper towels and cleaning material instead.

After bath Homie

I noticed that Homie loved looking at my iPhone and taking pictures and was fascinated by my iPad. Then something struck me, and I turned on a game/app I have called Games for Cats©. (Did I mention that I rescue & fix neighborhood ferals too? Figures, huh… and sometimes those ferals become family, oh well). Anyway, Homie loved playing the Chase the Mouse game and playing it helped his targeting skills. Remarkable! I had to share Homie the WunderBird’s story with the game developers and they were quite touched and appreciative and asked me to post a YouTube video showing Homie in action.

Gamer Homie

So now, here we are, five months plus after initially rescuing Homie, then rescuing Homie from my ignorance (hawk-attack) and I am happy to say a lot has happened. Homie is about 95% ‘normal’ at this point. He can walk, eat and fly quite well, although when he gets tired, he does stumble a wee bit, and he doesn’t always hit the seed he was aiming for, but he is a healthy, happy bird. We have finished his forever home- a big, beautiful and quite safe aviary in the backyard, about 4’x8’x6’. One funny thing, we took Homie to meet Jill, one of MickaCoo’s volunteers, to have her check out Homie and for me to learn more about pigeons. Jill gave me the Pigeon Birth Control talk, although I just knew Homie was a he (based on everything I had read online!) but Jill thought maybe just maybe, Homie was a she. Well, that night, I put the two wood eggs in his nest and woke the next morning to a surprising three eggs! So there went my assuredness that Homie was a he, as my dear, sweet Homie definitively is a she!

Homie lays an egg!

March 10 2014 Update: Elizabeth did a home visit and brought out some friends for Homie- hopefully a mate. Homie immediately took a shining to bachelor Bubba. Bubba however, played very hard to get, despite Homie tugging on his tail and staring longingly into his eyes. But like everyone who comes into contact with Homie, he could not resist her and they fell in love and are now ‘married’! Bubba had a really bad wing clipping (prior to being rescued) and does not yet fly well yet, but lil Homie understands limitations and makes sure she takes care of her man. So that’s the story (Part 1) of Homie the WunderBird!

Bubba & Homie

I would like to end this long story with a deeply heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness for those who helped Homie in her recovery! Without those wonderful people it may not have turned out as well as it did, despite Homie being a truly remarkable, WunderBird and never giving up on herself!

Homie & Adina

Hector & Homie

The aviary Homie built

Bubba & Homie

Homie the WunderBird

Part 2 Coming Soon!

Note from MickaCoo: For the best outcomes, we recommend that rescuers of baby pigeons find a pigeon-friendly wildlife expert ASAP rather than learn “on the job”. Learn more here.

April 29, 2014
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on Our Name is Changing!

Our Name is Changing!

April 23, 2014
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on MickaCoo at the Conscious Eating Conference 2014

MickaCoo at the Conscious Eating Conference 2014

On April 6th, I had the privilege of participating in the Conscious Eating Conference 2014 co-hosted by United Poultry Concerns & Animal Place. It was extremely informative and rescued King pigeon Valiant and I contributed to the growing awareness.

Most people don’t know much about squab.

Valiant made a lot of new friends

People are always surprised when I tell them that all these King pigeons that we rescue are bred to be eaten. They are factory-farmed or backyard-bred and taken out of their nest at four weeks old (before they’ve fledged) to be butchered and served as squab, a delicacy “to grace the menus of American haute cuisine restaurants such as Le Cirque and The French Laundry” among others.

I’m really glad that the truth about what we do to animals- whether they are used in agribusiness, the fur and feather trades, rodeos, circuses, zoos, the pet trades, etc. is starting to seep out into the mainstream. It’s important to know the truth.

Robert Grillo, Free from Harm

The more we know about what we eat, the more surprising it is. Many of us recoil at the thought of eating veal but their awful suffering isn’t unusual. All calves born to dairy cows are taken (bawling) away from their (bellowing) mothers at birth so that the milk they’re supposed to drink can be sold for humans to drink. Weird that we stop drinking our own mothers’ milk as we are weaned but we drink the milk of another species…? Most of the male calves of dairy cows are killed straight away as they cost more to raise than they bring when sold so veal are the ‘lucky’ ones. Same thing with billions of just-hatched male chicks. They are sorted and tossed away to die (in macerators or to just suffocate in trash bags) because they are worth more dead (sold as “hatchery debris” for pet food and animal meal) then worth alive (since they can’t lay eggs like their sisters will). And on and on.

I took a chance and brought Valiant with me to help with my MickaCoo outreach at the Conference. He was the only non-human animal there and he got a lot of love. I brought him, knowing that we might be asked to leave, because I just can’t talk about pigeon rescue unless I can introduce people to a pigeon. When people meet pigeons, they get it. It was a wonderful event and I’m grateful that we were included. I’m grateful to all those who are working to make this a less cruel and more compassionate world.

Please sign (once) and share (a lot) our Pledge to Say No to Squab!

You can see Valiant’s rescue story & baby pictures here.

Learn more about how King pigeons end up in animal shelters needing rescue here.

Learn more about reducing suffering & living vegan here.

March 19, 2014
by Elizabeth
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911 Pigeon Rescue

When the Good Samaritan arrived at my house on Friday night, he had two boxes taped shut with a total of ten pigeons inside. SFACC shelter staff had tried their best to persuade him to bring the birds to them the night before but nothing they said could convince him that they would help rather than kill the pigeons.

When we had spoken on the phone, I had offered to pick up the pigeons he was surrendering but he didn’t trust me either and wanted to see where they were going. I appreciate that concern and wish that more had it. Too often people blithely hand over their birds with very little knowledge of where they are going. But I was not at all happy that ten pigeons, including three sick squeakers squeezed in with angry adults, were in the small, filthy boxes.

And there were more. He had saved 20 King & Carneau pigeons from being killed as poultry and had set loose the other ten at a shopping center parking lot the night before. He had mistakenly assumed that because feral pigeons lived there, that these domestic pigeons would be alright. They weren’t. He realized almost immediately that he had made a mistake when he saw the pigeons being nearly run over by cars.

I quickly settled the seven adult pigeons in one foster cage and the three sick babies in a crate and then we drove to the parking lot to see if we could save any of the birds he had left there the night before.

We found and caught two and a third, with a broken wing, was rescued by one of several volunteers who had also searched to try and rescue these birds but seven are still unaccounted for and have most likely been killed by hawks if not run over.

We were already full up with 100 birds in foster care but these birds needed our help- immeditately. This was 911. And so now we have 113 birds in our care. The new birds include three fledglings- Daisy, Max and Sparrow. A big, old picked-on and sick adult I’ve named George (though I think she’s actually a hen), broke-wing, poor-appetite Hester (currently sitting in my lap after a hand-fed dinner), a pair of Carneaus I call Red Man & Lucy, and the others yet to be named. Each and every one of these birds clings to their aliveness as much as any other being. They are cheering up and getting better. We need foster homes and adopters for them and of course donations to sustain this work.

YOU saved these birds. MickaCoo is a manifestation of your support and involvement.

Thank you. Thank you for saving these innocents.

Elizabeth Young, founder & executive director

The pigeons were kept in the boxes for two days

The pigeons were in the boxes for two days

Scared & miserable

Two “released” pigeons we were able to recover from the parking garage

The adults cheering up & feeling better already

Broke-wing Hester gets a wing-wrap from Dr. Gillespie

Make a tax-deductible donation to MickaCoo

March 18, 2014
by Elizabeth
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Bubba’s Story

Bubba

On February 22nd, I was doing a home visit in Fairfield and on my way to transfer pigeons in Vacaville when I got a voicemail from a caller with a Florida area code. I’m not always able to check messages and return calls so quickly but, when I did this time, I spoke to Dustin, stationed at nearby Travis Air Force Base, who told me he needed help for a pigeon he had rescued.

Dustin and his wife had been headed off base when he noticed that a pigeon was just standing in the road, being narrowly missed by the passing cars. Dustin pulled over and approached the pigeon. He knelt down and the bird took a step towards him and stopped. Dustin grabbed the pigeon up and took him home. He looked like a feral pigeon to the untrained eye and, with severely clipped wings, he was grounded. The bird was feather and bone, starved and dehydrated. Dustin had rescued lost and injured racing pigeons back home in Florida but they had bands that could be traced. Dustin contacted area shelters and rescues and publicized the found pigeon in an effort to return him to his person. Along the way, he was referred to MickaCoo and called me.

We were full up with 100 pigeons and doves in foster care and I spoke with Dustin about fostering the bird he had saved (if not adopting him outright) but, with a rescued dog (one of the many that are abandoned on Travis AFB) and a baby on the way, his wife had vetoed that idea. We arranged to meet in half an hour at The Nut Tree in Vacaville.

Dustin rescued Bubba

Dustin had saved Bubba’s life. He’s a tame Homer with the worst wing clip I have ever seen. It’s a miracle that he lived long enough on his own to get skinny. I took him home to foster.

Bubba backseat driving on the way to my house

Safe from predators and with plenty of food and water, Bubba put on weight and began regaining his strength. His temperament was so sweet and demure (traits commonly found in Homer hens) that I initially thought Bubba was female but, when I took him outside to visit the aviary flock, they corrected me. Bubba enjoyed afternoons outside but spent most of his time recuperating indoors.

Bubba’s private suite

Bubba visits the aviary flock

I loved Bubba and hoped he’d enjoy working as a demo pij at meetings and events. When he had gained weight and was feeling good, I introduced him to pigeon pants and we did work a couple of events together.

Bubba wears pigeon pants for the first time

Bubba making new friends for pigeons at Community Initiatives

Parrot Boomer checks out Bubba at a Mickaboo Adoption Fair

Comparing Bubba’s Homer face to Coo Jackman’s feral face. (CJ’s puffing out & showing off his throat.)

Bubba did great work as a demo pij but he didn’t love it. He was shy and tense and, when a rescued feral pigeon hen named Homie’s people were ready to adopt a mate for her, I introduced her to Bubba & young bachelor Ni-Ban.

Adina & Homie (photo courtesy of Adina)

The custom-built aviary that clever-self-rescuer Homie inspired! L-R: Bubba, Homie, Snowflower, Ni-Ban, Moonshine

Homie took a shine to Bubba right away but it took him a day and a half to realize that he was in love.

Bubba & Homie are married

And now, not only does Bubba have his beautiful and very clever wife Homie, but he has a wonderful forever home too. He has been adopted!

Domestic and unreleasable feral pigeons (like Homie) make great pets. Learn more about pigeons as pets.

Coming Soon: Homie’s Story!

March 14, 2014
by Elizabeth
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Community@PigeonRescue.org

Everybody Needs Friends

This famous photo of a lonely pigeon who befriended an orphaned rhesus macaque* speaks to the strength found in friendship. MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue also finds great strength in the support of our friends and together, we are doing what we could not alone. We are accomplishing life-saving and culture-changing work. And now we have a new tool with which to do it.

Long-time members may recall our old MickaCoo@Mickaboo.org E-mail group. We used it to post rescue and volunteer requests, ask questions and share insights amongst volunteers and adopters. In all the changes and challenges of our transition from being a department within Mickaboo to becoming our own independent rescue, it fell out of use, despite its value for communicating amongst ourselves.

I am very happy to announce that we are now launching a new E-mail group: Community@PigeonRescue.org and, if you’re a volunteer, foster care provider or adopter, we hope you will participate. (You can choose to receive E-mails in real time, as a once-daily digest or opt out at any time.)

To subscribe, please click here. And then, when you have a question or idea or assistance to offer in support of the birds we help and the people that love them, just send an E-mail to Community@PigeonRescue.org

Welcome Page

Yay!!! We look forward to welcoming you to MickaCoo’s Volunteers & Adopters E-mail Group. It is thanks to your assistance- your time and talents and compassion- that we are able to comfort and save so many pigeons and doves in need. This group will allow us to communicate quickly & easily when birds need our help.

*To read the story called, “The Macaque and the Dove, check out Jennifer Holland’s book Unlikely Friendships.

March 14, 2014
by Elizabeth
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MickaCoo Brings Pigeons & Doves to Bird Adoption

MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue once again had the pleasure of attending the Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue Adoption Fair at the Carmichael Library. We had a wonderful day with lots of friends- new & old. Please visit www.PigeonRescue.org for more info about MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue (and www.Mickaboo.org to learn more about parrot rescue).

Please click on the photo to see full size with captions.

March 8, 2014
by Elizabeth
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Lovey Dovey Birdhouses

Guest Blog Post by Jean Getsi, Creator of Lovey Dovey Birdhouses

Jean has generously donated two Lovey Dovey Birdhouses to MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue to sell as fundraisers. $45 + shipping for each and all proceeds benefit MickaCoo! Comment below to buy yours.

Lovey Dovey Birdhouses

Birds have always been a joy in my life and it’s great to share this excitement with others.

The first time I noticed pigeons on the roof of our house, I was 7 years old and it was a cool, crisp morning in March. The pigeons were cooing and spinning in circles, flying from the roof of our house to the roof of our garage and back. I was surprised to see the color variation. We had white pigeons, brown, black, gray and a various mix of colors.

I soon realized they were not afraid of us, and as my elder brothers and sisters would throw feed on the ground, the pigeons would fly down and feed within a foot or so of us. I was amazed at how tame these birds were and in awe of how beautiful they were. A year or so later a pigeon breeder came and took all the birds away saying that some of his birds were mixed with ours, and claimed all of our birds.

I missed these birds when they were gone, I missed the sounds the colors and their tame behavior.

Later when I was twelve years old a friend from school acquired a pigeon from someone he knew. He’s parents wanted him to get rid of the bird and it was probably the best thing for the bird. He used to tie a string around one of the bird’s feet and let it fly in circles. I couldn’t believe he didn’t see this as inhumane.

I took the pigeon home and instead of keeping it in a coop for two to three weeks to adjust to its new home. I kept it in a box for 24 hrs. The next day I let it fly outside. The bird flew off for an hour and returned, I decided to name him Boomerang, since he had returned so soon. I’m lucky he came back at all seeing how I’d had him for such a short period of time.

I had Boomerang for many years and was amazed at his tameness. My parents let me keep the pigeon in a small bird cage in our house and when I would let him outside, he would hover in front of the widows of the house until someone would let him in. Boomerang was so tame that I could go outside, stoop down to the ground with my hand out and he would walk to me.

In the years since, I’ve captured and released several pigeons. Some of these were stunned from being hit by cars. These usually took just a few days before releasing. Others had injured wings and took several weeks before they could be released. Today I have two pigeons in a small coop, Ruby & Ralph. Ruby lost part of her wing, possibly due to an encounter with a tree limb, and Ralph had been hit by the windshield of a car. The two are now mates. Neither can fly and they are not releasable.

Ruby & Ralph

Through the years I have enjoyed watching pigeons, doves, and every other bird under the sun. Birds have been such a blessing in my life, I can’t imagine how dull life would be without them.

I’ve made many types of bird houses in the past, and always looked with anticipation to see if the birds would take to the new homes I would build for them.

Doves love their Lovey Dovey Birdhouses

Over the past five years, I’ve been experimenting with an open bird house for doves and have found that doves too, will take to bird houses. I was delighted to see that the doves took to these dove houses so well, and decided to start building these dove houses and selling them online. For more information about the dove houses, please check us out at www.loveydoveybirdhouses.com

Dove Babies at home in their Lovey Dovey Birdhouse

Thank you Elizabeth and MickaCoo for all your efforts in the rescue and rehoming of pigeons and doves.

Sincerely, Jean Getsi

Thank you, Jean & Lovey Dovey Birdhouses for your generous support of MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue!

March 6, 2014
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on Friends of SFACC Grant Sustains MickaCoo’s Work

Friends of SFACC Grant Sustains MickaCoo’s Work

Thank You to Our Friends of SFACC!

For the fifth straight year (and in the very nick of time), Friends of SFACC has awarded MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue a generous grant “for expenses related to the care and medical procedures for animals placed with our organization from San Francisco Animal Care & Control”.

In 2013, MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue cared for more than 40 birds from SF Animal Care & Control (SFACC), including 10 new intakes (all of whom were sick and/or special needs) and we also provided direct service to eight San Francisco residents to assist birds they found in distress (keeping them out of the shelter system). We also work to provide support to SFACC staff and volunteers in their care for birds being served by the shelter. (Please see Helping Animal Shelters to Help Pigeons & Doves to learn more.)

When birds like Rumi, Gemini and Mighty & Minnie need help beyond what SFACC can offer, MickaCoo provides transportation, foster care, avian vet treatment and adoption service.

Baby Rumi being picked up from SFACC

Mighty & Minnie developed respiratory infections and needed rescue

SFACC housed Gemini for 10 weeks & MickaCoo took him in when he needed more time

In August, SFACC director Rebecca Katz wrote about our partnership,

MickaCoo is one of the most committed and dedicated rescue groups with whom we have had the pleasure to work. In large part, through their efforts, we have a renewed appreciation for the unique character and needs of these birds coming into the shelter, especially in contrast to cats and dogs with which the general public has much greater familiarity.

Through our combined efforts, we are able to assess the medical, behavioral and social needs for the birds SF/ACC receives and every effort is made to put the bird up for adoption or transfer to rescue. With MickaCoo as a partner, hundreds of birds have been adopted into loving homes or serve as “ambassadors” at classes, outreach and other educational venues. The most rewarding outcome of MickaCoo’s involvement is that our pigeon and dove euthanasia figures have dropped significantly.

In their March Newsletter, Co-Presidents Jane Tobin and Lisa Stanziano write, “Each year, Friends of SFACC awards small grants to local rescue partners. This year, Friends was able to help 18 bay area rescue partners with grants totaling $49K. The award is based on the number of animals rescued from ACC in the past year (2013) and the finanical need of the organization.”

We are deeply grateful to the Friends of SFACC for their generous support. Thanks to their grant, we will be here ready to help birds that no one else can. We need more friends like Friends of SFACC!

MickaCoo Volunteer Cheryl at FSFACC’ 20th Annual Pet Pride Day in SF

MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue provides direct service, both to shelters and citizens, in seven counties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as well as education and referral assistance in support of birds all over the US and beyond. Please help us help birds by making a tax-deductible donation today. DONATE

February 18, 2014
by Elizabeth
Comments Off on Working Together: MickaCoo & The SF SPCA

Working Together: MickaCoo & The SF SPCA

MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue got an awesome Valentine this year from The SF SPCA! They included us as a special guest both at their big, fun cocktail party on Thursday 2/13 as well as their Adoptathon on Saturday 2/15. We had a great time and made a lot of new friends for pigeons!

The SF SPCA is one of the biggest rescuers of dogs and cats in the Bay Area. They place about 5,000 animals in homes every year! As a big, well-established yet still innovative rescue with thousands of volunteers and supporters, The SF SPCA has tremendous reach and MickaCoo is eager to work together with such a strong partner on behalf of bird rescue.

While people are starting to get the message about adopting cats and dogs from shelters, they are way behind when it comes to recognizing the needs of birds (and other small, companion animals) in shelters. People are always surprised when I introduce them to the beautiful birds we rescue from shelters.

But MickaCoo is small! We have just one staff person, about 50 volunteers and about 400 donors.

And yet the work that we are doing is BIG! MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue was created to close a deadly gap in the SF Bay Area animal welfare community. When we started in 2007, all the other animals that wound up in the open door shelters- the cats, dogs, rabbits, parrots, reptiles, rodents, chickens and ducks, wildlife- everybody – had at least one rescue to help get them out alive when they ran out of time. Everybody except domestic (unreleasable) pigeons and doves. They stood in their cages, unnamed, unphotographed, unpublicized and unpromoted, and when their time was up, they were killed. But little MickaCoo has changed that and saved more than 600 birds’ lives (directly) since we started and helped countless more.

But we can’t keep up! Domestic pigeons and doves- bred and kept by fanciers, racers and hobbyists as well as poultry breeders- need help in numbers far greater than we can keep up with. Plus most folks don’t even know that they exist, nor that they need homes nor what amazing pets they make- either indoors with the family or outside in predator-proof aviaries.

MickaCoo is really excited to engage the compassion and expertise of SF SPCA staff and volunteers on behalf of the birds! Stay tuned for new developments!

SF SPCA Co-President Dr. Scarlett discusses expanding to help “Smalls” like Valiant

Guest Blog Post by Adina Olivares

Part 2 Coming Soon!

Guest Blog Post by Jean Getsi, Creator of Lovey Dovey Birdhouses

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