Gurumina: First king that I really met

I regret to say that, when I started volunteering, the first couple of King Pigeons came and went (were euthanized) without a lot of notice on my part. I did notice that they were there and that they were scared and I knew I'd never heard of them before but I didn't know what to do about them or how to help them. You come in one shift and animals are there, you come in another and they're not. Hopefully they got adopted, but sometimes they don't. That's what happens in a shelter.

One night when I came in there was a huge pigeon named Gurumina there. She was so big that she was in one of the rabbit cages instead of the usual bird cage. The rabbit cages are like stainless steel cupboards stacked one row on top of the other, each with a cage door. This huge pigeon was in there jumping up and down and she was so big that every jump made this big "boom" on the stainless steel. The other King Pigeons had always sat quietly frozen in the bird cages. They didn't invite any kind of attention and, since they were obviously terrified, we didn't give them any attention.

After I finished up with the rabbits, I opened up Gurumina's cage but figured that she would become frightened. Instead, it was exactly what she had been asking for and she calmly stepped out on my arm. To this day, Gurumina is the biggest pigeon I've seen in person (she weighs 740 grams). I've seen photos of bigger ones (the biggest breed of pigeon is, perversely, called a Runt and they get REALLY big) but having her on my arm was like having a good size chicken perched there. She could easily look me in the eye and probably over the top of my head. She was completely calm- something birds never are at the shelter. She happily stepped on to my fellow volunteer's arm (which sagged under the surprise of her weight) and clearly had been somebody's very tame pet. She trusted people. I wrote a note about her on her 'visit card' exclaiming what a big sweetie she was and encouraging people to interact with her. I was worried about what would happen. I was going to Massachusetts for two weeks to attend my mom's 50th high school reunion and her sister's 90th birthday. The occasions had grown into a family reunion.

While away on my vacation, I called SF ACC to check on her (I love my cell phone!) and was both relieved to learn she had been adopted by one of the shelter staff (or Gurumina would have been euthanized) but also a little sad because I'd gotten attached to her. But I REALLY did not need another pet. I already had a rescue dog, two rescue cats and two rescue parrots.

The next time I went in to volunteer, one of the staff asked if I could still help out with Gurumina. The woman who had adopted her was having unexpected roommate-cat-attack problems and wasn't going to be able to keep her. My heart leapt a little bit. I said of course and that I could help publicize her and find her a new home. A couple days later, I ended up going and picking her up because I had the space to foster her and the cat was getting serious.

The situation wasn't ideal. I needed to keep her in quarantine (to protect my birds from her germs and visa versa). I put her, all by herself, in an unused room off my garage. She was way too big for the cage she was in so I promoted her to an unused parrot cage stored there. I positioned her next to the window so she'd have some entertainment and put a mirror in her cage, for company. I also put bird food out on the sidewalk in front of her window. Wild pigeons found it the first day and came every morning to have breakfast with Gurumina. (So many started coming that, after Gurumina was placed, I stopped putting food out there. Even so, a few still come and check every day. Sometimes I give in to their hopeful looks and put some food out which is, of course, why they still come and check every day.)

What a sweet, good guest she was! While I felt badly about her set-up, she seemed content and peaceful. I'd spend about 30 minutes down there with her in the morning and another half-hour at night, cleaning out her cage, changing her food and water, petting her. She loved to sit in my lap and was incredibly easy to care for. I'm used to parrots- noisy, loud, bitey, destructive (and wonderful all the same). Gurumina, on the other hand, was SO easy. I ended up leaving the bird cage door open so that she could use the whole room and she split her time about 50/50 in the cage and out. When I came to visit her, she always greeted me with expressive coos and trills. She was in perfect condition (blindingly white) and extremely soft- a real pleasure to pet.

I had posted her on craigslist.org and was contacted by a wonderful family who was interested in adopting her. I took her over to meet them (Mom & 3 kids ages 7 to 13). I explained that she might be shy (after the night-time car ride in the crate and finding herself in a strange environment) and, as the family sat against the far wall of the kitchen, I opened her crate. She calmly (sublimely?) stepped out and looked all around, cocking her head to see the kitchen cupboards high above her and the people around her. Within minutes, she was standing on the kids' arms and enjoying the attention. Gurumina was quite an amazing bird. The wonderful family loved her and she and I loved them but they had underestimated the amount of space her cage would require and so we were still on the hunt for a home.

Thanks to the generosity of Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue, I was also able to publicize her to potential adopters on their website. A couple of weeks later, Gurumina was adopted by a young woman who'd had a King Pigeon as a pet when she was a child. She'd completed the Mickaboo Adoption Application, attended their Bird Care Training, and welcomed me in to do a Home Visit. I had decided early on that, if I didn't feel comfortable about an adoption, I'd take my bird and leave. It's worked out. I have walked away from a couple of homes. The birds might have been fine (you never know) but I wouldn't have. I'd be worrying. As long as I have a better situation to take them home to, I've reserved for myself the right to refuse an adoption.

In this case, Gurumina got a wonderful home with people who love her and understand her and take great care of her. I still get updates about her, which I love. Gurumina was the first King Pigeon that I really met and she started all this.