# City bus driver rescues pigeon



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

While in dispatch today, one of my bus drivers called by phone to tell me that he "has a surprise" for me and that he would see me when he reported in for his evening run. 

At 4:40pm he approaches me with a covered aquarium, and inside there was a feral rock pigeon, resembling Tooter, but smaller in size.He said that he was on his late morning route and that he spotted a pigeon just sitting there with a large black raven walking towards it, so he stopped his bus, ran to the area where the pigeon was, and the large black bird flew away, however, the lone pigeon allowed him to just pick him up. He returned to the bus, and emptied out his carrying bag, and placed the pigeon in it and then eventually took it home. 

He put the found pigeon in the mesh covered aquarium, with a soft cloth as a bottom, some water and wild bird seed. He said that the pigeon drank the water, and shook his head on the second intake. He has been a guest on this forum and knew the basic action to take, especially knowing that not fleeing from him was *not *normal. 

I have not had a chance to "examin " it as of yet, but the driver said he did not appear to have any wounds. Right now he is quite aware of his surroundings and seems calm, and his breathing appears to be normal. I have a heating pad at home, and plan on checking him over when I get home after midnight tonight and placing a heating pad, and giving him some water with the assist of a dropper. I have not seen him drink anything, and there are no poops on the cloth yet. 

I will keep him away from Tooter and keep him isolated in a warm, quiet room tonight.


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## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

Hi Victor,

That's great that the bus driver knew "the drill", and especially knew to call you for help. Hope you're able to help this pij back to full health, I know he's in good hands at your home.

fp


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Nice rescue, Victor! Please thank your driver on behalf of all of us at Pigeon-Talk for assisting the little pigeon. We'll look forward to an update when you've had a chance to check the little one over.

Terry


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Victor, 


Nice co-operations there!


Check the Bird's throat for 'Canker'...which is something one may associate with seeing them 'shake' their head sometimes, since things might not feel right with his throat.

Feel his Crop thoroughly, to see if it feels empty or has anything in it, or if there may be any sort of foreign object in it...that too can sometimes have them do a head shake when drinking or other...

Check his Vent for any soiled Feathers or signs of yellow poo...(pee, really, but...) 

Good luck!

I bet he will appreciate the Heating Pad!


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*Up-date on found pigeon*

Hi all,

All my associates have left, and I had a chance to look inside his temporary quarters, and see that there are three or four droopings that are light green and runny on the cloth that had been placed inside. He still is attentive. I opened the top, reached in slowly, while speaking in soft tones and petted him briefly. He took a couple of steps. I don't want to stress him out, so I put him(or her) in the storage room, which is 5 degrees warmer than where I am, with the door cracked just a bit. In one hour and a half, he will begin his ride home, so I can better check him out and give him rest.I will keep you folks posted.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*Bus pigeon up-date*

The pigeon is home with us now. I inspected him for bleeding, and cuts, and all appeared well at the initial check. It's eyes were dialated.I prepared a cup of room temperature water, and added a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar, mixed all up, and administered him a drink with a medicine dropper. I then gave him a lukewarm bath, and made sure the vent area was cleansed. The pigeon looked around and seemed to enjoy the warm water.

I dried off the pigeon, patting it dry and wrapped it up in the towel, while I prepared its quarteres for the night.My wife and I examined it once again, and she noticed a couple of small blotches, what appeared to be blood. She made a solution of cat saliva antibiotic, just in case it had come in contact with a cat, and again administered it orally, and placed the rest in its water mix. 

Right now, it is isolated in a private, warm room, with a heating pad wrapped in a towel, set on low.All we can do now is hope it survives this night.


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## Feefo (Feb 8, 2002)

Hi Victor,

When you say "cat saliva antibiotic" do you mean clavamox? That is also good for bacterial gut infections. The course should be completed, because otherwise bacteria could become resistant to it.

It would also be a good idea to give him probiotics, spaced as far apart from the antibiotics as possible.

I had a pigeon that I thought would die it was so ill, but the combination of warmth, rehydration, clavamox and probiotics brought on a dramatic improvement overnight. The most difficult cases are the ones where there is no obvious cause of the illness, by the time we find them they need immediate treatment and with nothing definite to go on it ends up being guess work.

Like Phil I associate head shaking with canker. Sometimes it is too far down the throat to be immediately visible, so see if you can look as far down the throat as possible, with a torch if you have one.

Your bus driver has restored my faith in human nature. Most would not stop for a pigeon that was directly in their path.

Cynthia


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Yahhhh...

Heck, if you are in Omaha, depending on how warm the room is, you might even have the Heating Pad on 'Medium', just so long as the Bird can be on it or off of it as he sees fit.

I never bother with 'low', myself...and often I have used the 'high' setting when it is cold here.

Keep an eye peeled to note the poops, watch for any chaulky yellow paint-like ones...

Many times, the Cat-Caught Pigeon is already an ill or compromised Pigeon...
for the Cat (or Dog ) to catch it in the first place. 

If the Bird will drink on their own, maybe let them have ACV drinking Water, and do the Clamavox by getting it down their throat directly.

Hopefully they will have a good appetite!

You shall see...tomorrow...

Good going!

Best wishes!

Phil
Las Vegas


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Victor!

I'm so glad to hear the bus driver stopped to rescue this needy bird! Please give him my thanks, too.

Well, you know the drill, and you have some great information already.

The shaking of the head rang a bell with me also, this bird may have Canker, mites, worms, and everything else that comes along when they are down.

What Cynthia said, makes absolute sense, the sooner the treatment, the better, and I can't stress enough how important the addition of the probiotics is.

I would go for the garlic, ACV, probiotics, and echinacea as well. anything that boosts the immune system at this time is a big plus, as well as finding the problem and treating it.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Victor, see, your good deeds and love for Tooter has paid off so now other people are aware of our pigeon friends. It is wonderful the driver was kind enough to rescue this little guy. 

The only thing I might add to caring for him is to weigh him. That can help give a basis for how malnourished he may be. I have found also that worms often are the main problem with ferals.

Maggie


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Everyone,

Got to bed late, after the family retired, slept late, so sorry for the late up-date, I am posting from work right now.

I checked on "bus pigeon" this morning and he was awake and eyes appeared near normal. It was swatted down relaxing on the heated towel. 

Cynthia,

Clavomox was administered orally last night and the rest placed in the water solution we placed inside the carrier.I drove to Walgreens Drug and the pharmacist directed me to the self-help shelf, and the only probiotic was a high-priced capsul form. I opted to go to my vet up the street, and check there instead. The avian vet was not in, and the medical assistant read the copy of one of our postings on probiotics, and suggested I try Pet-Co. No time to do this today, as I had to be at work....so off to the corner grocery I go, and found some plain Yogert that was plainly marked, Active Culture. When I got home, we placed some yougert in the medicine dispenser and injected just a bit in its beak. Not an easy task! The rest we placed back in the water dish.


Phil, 

I raised the temperature to medium as you suggested and placed it back inside the carrier, and did check for poops.The rest of today it will get rest in a dark, quiet, isolated room.


Thank you all for your concern and direction.


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Trees Gray said:


> What Cynthia said, makes absolute sense, the sooner the treatment, the better, and I can't stress enough how important the addition of the probiotics is.


This is at the top of my list to do first thing on Sunday morning. The active culture yogert will suffice for now, but the probiotic power will be added to my supply shelf, as well as other items for this and future emergencies. One never is warned of a situation popping in, are we?


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*Bus bird has crossed the rainbow bridge...*

Hi all,

I just got a call from home. My wife went in to check on the pigeon, and found he had passed away. We tried.It is a sad day.Sorry for the bad news.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi Victor, 

What a sad outcome Sorry to hear the pigeon passed away and everything sounded so positive. From from the bus driver who stopped to save him and from your updates, I thought things were going to end well.

Very sorry to hear this


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## alaska (Mar 17, 2005)

Hi Victor,
I just got to this thread...and I am sorry to hear that this little pigeon did not make it. 
I am sure that he/she was comforted my being in the hands of an experienced pigeon care giver as yourself, and it's last time here was spent in the best comfort it could have.
The bus driver caring enough to help this little one and knowing to come to you for help is a great story of how we can work one by one to slowly change peoples perceptions of the real beauty of pigeons be it our pets or ferals.

'The smallest pebble dropped on still water makes many ripples' Alaska

Hey..I just made up my own quote 

Kind Regards
Alaska


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Victor, the thing is, you tried. You also allowed him to pass in a safe, warm environment and to me, that means alot. I know the driver is sad also.

I'm so sorry.  

Maggie


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Thank you all for your up-lifting words. 

Maggie, thanks, and no he does not know. Vince (my driver) called this afternoon to hear how the pigeon was doing, and he was just so happy and proud of his good deed. 

I did not feel it appropriate to call him and ruin his weekend. I will see him on Monday and personally tell him of the passing. I also will give him a copy of this thread for him to read. I don't want him to feel like it was a waste of his time. The poor creature could have been ran over or died in the cold at the least. He did the right thing, and I will always be grateful to him for that.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Victor, 


Good try...


I am sorry he did not make it.

I myself drove across town earlier, to find that the Bird the people called me to come get, had perished already.

Sometimes they are quite near the end when we get the call, or get them to bring home.

Best wishes,

Phil
Las Vegas


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Victor, so sorry the bird did not survive. Regardless, both you, your wife, and the other bus driver are to be commended for doing the right thing. Sometimes the best you can do is to create ripples. Thank you all.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*My thoughts*

are added with other members. I always hope for the best when I read about rescued pigeons, then feel so badly when they don't make it. But then, I feel better when I remember that each did not die alone without someone to care. 

I am seeing more and more ripples...


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## phyll (Mar 15, 2004)

Victor,
I'm sorry for the loss of the pigeon, but thankful he passed in peace & comfort.
Please thank Vince for all of us here. He's one of the "good" ones.

Phyll


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Victor,

I'm sorry to hear about the pigeon. Please remember the bird had love, warmth, and peace which he never would have had, if it wasn't for you and the bus driver. *That * is what counts. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family, and to the bus driver, who made it possible.


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Victor,

I'm sorry for the way it turned out, but like the others said, it's so great that because of you and your influence, your driver stopped to help instead of just driving by. And also, the little guy was able to pass without fear. You all did a great job trying.

Linda


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