Two years ago, I found a beat-up pigeon in my backyard. Poor thing had hardly a feather left after a neighborhood alley cat had pinned it down and pulled them out by the mouthful, leaving my lawn littered with feathers large and small. After seeing the masses of fluff strewn about, I was expecting to find a dead bird. But instead, I found a poor, shocked, wide-eyed, blood-specked pigeon shivering in my garage doorway. He was almost totally naked, but he was definitely alive. I gave him food and water, and started making phone calls. The Dumb Friends League and most other animal groups don't take birds at all, let alone a lowly pigeon. And I'll admit, I was never much of a fan of pigeons myself, due to the group of birds that always insisted on trying to nest in my front porch eaves and pooping all over my cafe table. But "Pidge," as I called him, really tugged at my heart strings. I wrote a post here asking for advice (and received 18 responses over a period of many months). I scooped him up, made him a little nest in a pet carrier, and finally found the folks at Wild B.I.R.D. rescue, a tiny house full of volunteers in South Denver who will take in any wild bird for rehabilitation. They said it would take six months for Pidge to grow back his feathers and be able to fly again. Six months! I asked what the care would cost, and wrote out a check for the $25 they suggested. It was the least I could do. Now I'm hoping to help them out again. The small group is run completely on volunteers and donations, and they will host their 2nd annual Wild Bird fundraiser on September 27th at Red & Jerry's in Sheridan. The event consists of a silent auction, volunteer celebration, and comedy night. It's only $10 to attend, or you can bring a donation of paper towels and toilet paper (for nesting materials), Science Diet Puppy "small bites," or laundry detergent and Dawn dishwashing soap.