New Yorker Shares How She Ended Up With a Snobby Pet Purse Pigeon
New Yorker Abby Jardine shared how she came to have a “snobby” purse pigeon who doesn’t care to socialize with the regular pigeons who live on the streets.
Where are their purses?
Jardine found the baby pigeon, whom she named Pidge, on the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Pidge couldn’t fly or fend for herself, so Jardine took her home and gave her a safe place to stay. Jardine thought this was only temporary, but the pair have been together for more than three years. During that time, Jardine taught Pidge everything she needed to know about living life as a purse pigeon, including potty training.
Y’all, I don’t know what possessed me to think of putting her in a purse. I did need to transport her and I had a sample left over from when I was working on the bag team at Madewell and it was a perfect fit. I really wanted her to be well socialized, comfortable around people, and brave in new situations in the city, and somehow this worked really well.
As Jardine explains, all of the pigeons in New York are domestic birds, and as pets they can live more than 15 years, compared to only two or three on the street. At first, Jardine thought Pidge was a boy until the bird laid an egg in her lap at about six months old.
