An influencer rescued a pigeon and trained it to go out to restaurants.
In a viral series on TikTok called “Purse Pigeon,” party product developer Abby Jardine lets viewers enjoy her nights out in New York City along with her faithful companion, Pidge, a pigeon she carries around with her. his cream-colored leather suit. briefcase. Together, they paint the city red, hitting one New York hotspot after another.
“If I want to go out for drinks or dinner with friends, I just put it in my bag and it's ready,” the 26-year-old explained to the New York Post. “She is super sociable and super calm, so we have never been kicked out of any bar or restaurant.”
Jardine told the outlet that while walking outside her apartment building, she found Pidge injured and completely alone.
“I found her scared and alone next to a trash can near my apartment when she was 3 weeks old,” he recalled. “She was just a baby, she couldn't fly and she shouldn't have left the nest.”
After finding the little bird, Jardine took her to the Wild Bird Fund, an animal rehabilitation center on the Upper West Side. While there, the little bird was able to receive treatment for her injuries. Jardine decided to take Pidge under her wing and adopt her despite never having had a bird. “She had never had a pet pigeon,” he said. “I'm not even a bird person.”
“But I did know that pigeons can be domesticated,” he added. “When I saw how cute and friendly she was, I knew she was my forever baby.”
“Having her has been the best thing I could have done,” he continued. “We keep each other company and she is a great companion whether we are at home or going out.”
Adopting Pidge meant taking on her training, which consisted of bathing her, feeding her, and potty training her.
“If we go out somewhere, I just take her to the bathroom every 30 or 40 minutes, hold her over the toilet and she goes,” he revealed. “I have tried to [make her go] about trash cans, and she's definitely wary of that. She prefers a real bath.”
More than 2.2 million people flocked to Jardine's account to watch the duo's antics, from sipping martinis at fancy bars to attending exclusive parties. In the comments section, one person joked: “I need an emotional support pigeon.”
“Her life is so metropolitan,” someone added, while another wrote: “She is the moment! State that I will meet her the next time I go to the city.”
Even brands like Coach chimed in and said, “We're here in the name of the bird.”
For years, pigeons have earned a bad reputation, often despised for carrying various disease-spreading pathogens, such as E. coli and salmonella. However, the germs carried by pigeons are for the most part non-transmissible to humans.
Palomacy, a nonprofit pigeon rescue organization, notes that despite their reputation, pigeons are very intelligent and intuitive creatures that actually make excellent pets. They added that breeds of pigeons, such as Kings, Fantails, Tumblers and Homers, are selectively bred and domesticated, leading to them being unable to survive in the wild, but thriving in a domestic environment.
