MONROE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) – The owner of a pigeon that traveled some 4,000 miles from France to the United States is glad they’ll be reunited soon. Alan Todd spoke to WKRG News 5’s Blake Brown Friday about the ordeal.
Todd tells us his pigeon, named Bob, was part of a 10-hour race overseas and when Bob didn’t return he feared the worst. But that feeling changed Wednesday when he received a call from the Monroe County Animal Shelter. A resident in Mexia found Bob and the animal shelter staff were able to get in touch with the owner thanks to the tracking information on the pigeon’s band.
Todd says the pigeon likely broke up his journey by landing on ships in the Atlantic Ocean. He’s thankful for social media and the tracking band for bringing them back together.
“The condition I saw him in on Wednesday he couldn’t have flown very far in that condition. He looked down and a bit dirty. You just don’t know he may have flown a thousand miles maybe more. He might have flown just a few hundred miles. You’re never going to know. I’m hoping because it’s gone so viral that somebody’s been looking after him on a cruise liner or on a tanker or something like that,” Todd explained.
He hopes to raise money for a plane ticket to the U.S. within the next week and then take Bob back home.