# I ASSume This Is A Ganus Bird ???



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

A bird wearing an AU band was found injured today. After some confusion over what was actually on the band, I just went and got the bird. The band info is AU 2008 Vita King 2478. The AU site shows this as the breeder/owner:

Club Name : 
Club Code : VITA KING 
Club Secretary : DEB GANUS 
City : GRANGER 
State : IN 
Phone No. : 574-272-2445 
Email Address : [email protected] 

It is a very handsome white and gray grizzle with a badly broken wing. I've left a message at the above phone # and also sent an e-mail asking to contact me regarding who here locally either owns this bird or is the handler.

Terry


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

a true ganus bird would have a GFL band but vita king are the bands that are sold on their web site so vita king is just their product line bands that are sold and not bands of birds that they raise


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

LokotaLoft said:


> a true ganus bird would have a GFL band but vita king are the bands that are sold on their web site so vita king is just their product line bands that are sold and not bands of birds that they raise


Thank you, Lokota! That's what I needed to know. Every now and then I get in a pigeon that is actually or potentially quite valuable in terms of dollars, and I just want to be sure I am extra careful with such birds with regard to returning them to the rightful owner. All the pigeons I get in are important and valuable to me, but I know that isn't always the case as to how they are viewed by others.

Terry


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

well I only know because I have bought some of those vita king bands myself and although my birds are priceless to me Im sure they wouldnt compare with those birds that ganus sells as his own lol


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

I think Mike's wife Deb buys the Vita King bands. If you look in the AU yearbook, the band listing for Vita King is Mike's hometown and the owner is Deb Ganus.


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## kalapati (Aug 29, 2006)

TAWhatley said:


> A bird wearing an AU band was found injured today. After some confusion over what was actually on the band, I just went and got the bird. The band info is AU 2008 Vita King 2478. The AU site shows this as the breeder/owner:
> 
> Club Name :
> Club Code : VITA KING
> ...


hi Terry,

most likely that bird came from the: http://www.395concourse.org/ race today which have about 4200 birds liberated at 7:15 AM. it was a tough race on our end here in san diego for it was hot. i am 214 miles from the liberation point and my bird was really exhausted when she arrived at 12:03 PM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBZI5KTNoyo











kalapati
San Diego
http://bluebarloft.from-ca.com:81/Jview.htm


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

Kal-El said:


> I think Mike's wife Deb buys the Vita King bands. If you look in the AU yearbook, the band listing for Vita King is Mike's hometown and the owner is Deb Ganus.


i seriously doubt they band any of their birds with anything but the glf bands as thats what makes them their money and their birds worth that much more when selling any of their birds especally when anyone can purchase a vita king band...they have to have a way to seperate their birds from the general population plus just look at any one loft race they are into and you will see only glf banded birds under their names not vita king


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

kalapati said:


> hi Terry,
> 
> most likely that bird came from the: http://www.395concourse.org/ race today which have about 4200 birds liberated at 7:15 AM. it was a tough race on our end here in san diego for it was hot. i am 214 miles from the liberation point and my bird was really exhausted when she arrived at 12:03 PM.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info, Kalapati. You could well be right. This bird is not thin, seems to be healthy, so has not been out for long. Hopefully I will get a lead on the owner tomorrow. For now, the bird is safe and tucked away for the night with plenty of food and water. It's a shame the wing is broken, but that may be fixable. I would just like to get this bird home if I can or at least talk to the owner and take things from there. It really is a nice looking bird!

Terry


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Lakota, i agree with you. Why would MR. G ., but sale bands on his own birds?


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

What Lokota posted makes sense to me .. Vita King bands are kinda like ARPU, JEDDS bands for the AU, the IPB bands from Foy's, and so on. All I'm concerned about is doing the best I can for this bird and getting it home if that's what the owner wants. I was just a bit taken aback when I saw the name Ganus. I did not know they sold "generic" bands, and now that I do know that, all is fine. I just didn't want to be sitting here with an injured bird that someone paid thousands of dollars for and not be making heroic efforts to find the owner.

I was honored to have De Senna and his mate retired at my place by Hapyco Lofts (http://www.hapycolofts.com/lofts/families/desenna.html), and I must admit that I was kinda scared at the thought of having a racing pigeon that someone paid a really significant amount for at my place. In the end, it turned out that De Senna was just a good old boy, so to speak, and happy to be left alone with the love of his life and live out his days here. He died here at the age of 16 years plus.

Terry


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

just remember even generic banded birds can be worth a great deal it just depends on who is breeding them  that aside we all know they are priceless no matter where they come from , glad its now with you where it will be well cared for you are da bomb Terry dont you forget it


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Still trying to locate the owner of this bird. The person who purchased the band is in Ohio .. I've left a message for him and will hopefully get a return call.

Terry


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*OK .. Seriously Annoyed Here ..*

I spoke with the original breeder of this bird today.  He claims he does not remember who he sold or gave the bird to and has no records. This fellow is in Ohio and the bird is in California. He also told me that the current owner would not want the bird back because of the broken wing. How he knows this is beyond me, but I can't ask the current owner because I can't find out who that person is.

I can make some major grief for this original breeder as I know his name, address, and phone # and can call the AU tomorrow and start the process. He is an AU member.

What do you all think is the right thing to do? 

The bird is safe and will be well cared for by me, and I will do my best to get the wing fixed.

I'm just tired of the same old stuff coming back .. when 911 PA was alive and well, there was some "fear" on behalf of such breeders/owners ... that seems to be gone already in such a short time.

I need another broken racing pigeon like I need another hole in my head, but it looks like I've got another one (broken racing pigeon that is).

I'll be interested in any comments any of you may have.

Terry


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Call the owner out on it, EXPOSE him. he is not the kind of flyer that i would want in a club i flew in.Most flyers would not do that, at least not the ones i flew with, Nail HIM/HER Dave


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Maybe i am the exception, BUT every bird i have in my life called on, the owner either made arrangements to get the bird or gave it to me, of course, maybe i was just to willing to take them. Dave


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

LUCKYT said:


> Call the owner out on it, EXPOSE him. he is not the kind of flyer that i would want in a club i flew in.Most flyers would not do that, at least not the ones i flew with, Nail HIM/HER Dave


Dave,

Sorry to say that while I think you are right in your approach, you are WRONG about your fellow pigeon racing folk .. I was a 911 Pigeon Alert moderator from the beginning and Renee (Lovebirds) was also there for a very long time .. your opinion of MOST flyers just doesn't fly .. some care but most don't .. it's a fact and we have the data to support that. The only reason that some shaped up was because they knew that we knew and if we knew then the AU, IF, CU, NPA etc. also knew. Didn't really help in the end .. 

Problem with my current case of one bird is that I don't know who the owner is and the original breeder claims he has no records or recollection. My choice is now to make a BIG deal of this or just suck it up and take on another injured racing pigeon. I'll probably talk to Deone at the AU tomorrow and get her take on it and go from there.

Terry


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Then i am saddened, i guess a lot of people were just talking,maybe i would have seen that if i was not so willing to keep the birds.(being poor at the time sucked) BUT i am no longer poor, let me know how i can help, Dave


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

TAWhatley said:


> I spoke with the original breeder of this bird today. He claims he does not remember who he sold or gave the bird to and has no records. This fellow is in Ohio and the bird is in California. He also told me that the current owner would not want the bird back because of the broken wing. How he knows this is beyond me, but I can't ask the current owner because I can't find out who that person is.
> 
> I can make some major grief for this original breeder as I know his name, address, and phone # and can call the AU tomorrow and start the process. He is an AU member.
> 
> ...


OH Terry........I hear you lady. Same old crap, different year. What I'd LIKE to do and what actually gets done is two different things. This sort of stuff has frustrated me from the very first time I got my first "lost" homer back in 2000. And nothing has changed and until the national organizations do something, it ain't gonna change. 
You are right...........just saying "911 Pigeon Alert" to someone got their attention but people are learning that 911 is no more. Back to same old grind. 
This "owner" or raiser of the bird may honestly NOT know who he sold the bird too AND he may be telling you that the present owner wouldn't want it back because if it WAS his bird, HE wouldn't want it back. 
I know that you don't need another bird, but I'd just get the bird healthy again and not worry about finding the owner. You'd probably never find them anyway. This is the thing that frustrates me too, is the people who raise these guys not keeping records. I've purchased birds from all over the country and I know that if any of these birds escaped from my loft, I'd probably never be contacted because whoever sold the bird to me maybe didn't' keep good records. 
It's a vicious circle and until someone bigger than you and me steps up and makes people accountable, nothing will ever be done.
The AU and the IF will sing you a pretty song, but in the end, they don't deliver. Neither organization, as far as I"M concerned wants to loose that member and their $$'s..........so, don't think that either of them are going to demand that an owner take responsibility for his lost bird. They'll contact them, "fuss" at them a tiny bit and then tell you to find someone to take the bird because the owner doesn't want it back. Just like they did all the time when we were working 911. 
Of course we know that there ARE some responsible pigeon folks out there, but I'd bet you $1000 that if you had 10 different birds found from 10 different lofts and contacted each one, maybe 2 or 3 would have a positive response. Maybe.
Some find that surprising, but because of the folks we have here as members, who the majority of them are responsible, it SEEMS like that's the "norm"...............but you get away from the forum out into the real world and deal with these "fanciers" and you will get enlightened pretty quickly.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

LUCKYT said:


> Call the owner out on it, EXPOSE him. he is not the kind of flyer that i would want in a club i flew in.Most flyers would not do that, at least not the ones i flew with, Nail HIM/HER Dave


Dave..........I'm 100% with you. Problem is, it don't work like that.......ESPECIALLY these days when new flyers and hard to come by and the old guys are dying off with no one to replace them.
Don't think for one second that "exposing" one of these irrisponsible jerks will get you anywhere. The club isn't going to do anything, because they don't want to loose a member over something as "petty" as picking up or being responsible for their bird.
The AU, IF or CU or NPA or NBRC or any of the rest of them feel the same way. Of course, they aren't going to TELL you that..........when you speak to them on the phone, they "sound" as outraged as you........I'd love to hear the REAL conversation after the telephone is hung up. 
I've got a bird in my loft right now that's banded with a WTCM band. (World Trade Center Memorial). The bird was found AFTER the race was over. I made numerous phone calls to NY.......I called the IF........I couldn't even get a straight answer as to who owned the damn bird. BUT......IF that bird had made it home and won some money.....do you think maybe they would've known WHO the bird belonged to then? Funny huh.....and that's just ONE story.......Terry and I, along with the others that worked 911 could write a book....a BIG book full of this kind of story. Of course we could also write a book about the HAPPY endings.......and there were many.......but I doubt it would be as thick.


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

Renee, I wish there were more people like you out there. This is a sport we choose, we all lose birds to accidents and that we can't help. But when a bird is found we should make arrangments to get the bird home, but that would require us to be responsible, unfortunetly most are not.
Dave


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## Young Bird (May 2, 2007)

I know my club officers make point to tell everyone to recover there lost birds if someone finds one and contacts them even if they don't want it back.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Sorry this picture is so blurry .. will get a better one soon as the bird is quite a handsome one. This is my new racing pigeon:










Terry


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Well he does "appear" to be quite pretty. It IS just a little blurry..........LOL
I'm sure he's happy to be somewhere safe.


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