A Thought For a Wounded Bird

 

Upon exiting the Porter Square MBTA station this evening, I came upon this pigeon laying on its back. At first, I thought it might have been dead. But upon closer observation it was moving with great struggle. It was apparent there had been an injury sustained to one of its wings. How the injury took place wasn't clear. Perhaps it crashed into something at the T station or something very nearby. Whatever the case, the bird gallantly tried to right itself, but without success.

I admired the bird's determination and spirit. Yet it was clear the bird wasn't going to fly away on its own. And if I didn't act then who would?

So, I consulted the Cambridge Animal Commission which suggested to either call the Cambridge Police Department's non-emergency line and request animal control radio dispatch or call the Animal Rescue League of Boston. I chose the former. The operator took my number, and I received a call back a few minutes later from a woman named Liz.

At first, Liz thought she would be close to an hour away. Liz asked me if I had a box or a plastic bag. I had neither but told her I could get a plastic bag from the Shaw's grocery store across the street. She wanted me to move the bird away from the sidewalk. I expressed concern that I could cause further injury but agreed to get the bag.

As it turned out, Liz was a lot closer than she thought and would arrive a few minutes after I got back from the grocery store. Liz told me the pigeon was young and was moving its wings. At this point, the earliest the bird could be seen by a vet would be in the morning. In the meantime, she would take it back to her office where it would be safe. She gave me the sense that the bird's injuries could be fixed. 

Obviously, there are no guarantees here. Nevertheless, I felt I had to act because it was abundantly clear that no one else was prepared to make a phone call, much less wait around for someone to attend to the bird. I'm not trying to extol my virtues. This was just one of those times when something had to be done and it fell to me to do it. I can only hope that I made the call in time.