‘Silly’ pigeon loves people — and landing on shelter staff’s heads. Now she has a home
A “determined” pigeon kept hanging around a Maryland animal shelter and landing on staff members — so they decided to put her up for adoption.
Now, Valley the pigeon has a “stellar” new home, according to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center.
Valley first tried to break into the adoption center by landing on a staff member heading into the building, the shelter said in an April 2 Facebook post.
She appeared to be healthy and didn’t have a band that identified her as a pet or racing bird, so they released her outside, staffers wrote.
But she persisted.
“Every time Valley was placed lovingly outside, she would land on somebody’s head, shoulder, or jacket and take herself back inside,” the shelter said.
The breaking point came when the center’s outreach coordinator went outside to take photos of the dogs playing and the pigeon landed on her head.
The bird settled in her hair for a long time, and then the shelter knew that Valley had to be put up for adoption due to her “love for human company and lack of survival skills.”
The shelter put out a call for an adopter on social media, calling Valley a “very friendly, very silly and very determined pigeon.”
“She much prefers hanging out with her human friends, on your head or shoulder, to being in her cage, so she’s hoping to find an adopter who enjoys her company as much as she enjoys theirs and wants to spend lots of time with her,” according to the Facebook post.
The shelter received a flood of responses to the bird’s story, and not long after, it found a home where she would have the companionship she needed, staff shared April 5.
Domesticated pigeons can make good pets in the right home and enjoy spending time with others, according to pigeon pet owners.
Montgomery County borders Washington, D.C., to the north.
This story was originally published April 8, 2024 at 5:18 PM with the headline "‘Silly’ pigeon loves people — and landing on shelter staff’s heads. Now she has a home."