It was a bright, sunny afternoon in late September when Thera Bullen noticed something strange as she drove through her quiet Toronto neighborhood.
A large diaper box sat overturned on the side of the road — and next to it, a cluster of white and gray pigeons huddled together in confusion.
“I slowly got out and realized that the box was also filled with pigeons,” Bullen told The Dodo. “There were nine in total. It was heartbreaking.”
Two of the birds fluttered up to a nearby hydroline, while the others shuffled nervously around the box but didn’t stray far. When Bullen looked closer, she realized one pigeon hadn’t survived.
That’s when instinct took over.
“I went into mom mode,” Bullen said. “I’m like, ‘OK, what do we need to do to make sure these babies are OK?’”
Bullen — a mom herself — immediately called her own mother for advice. Together, they started contacting local wildlife rescues to find help.
While she waited for responses, Bullen gently scooped up the remaining pigeons and placed them back inside the box to shield them from the hot sun.
“It was very hot and sunny that day, and they were, like, right in the sunshine,” she said.
Soon after, a Vaughn Animal Services officer explained that the pigeons were likely racing or exhibition birds, bred for competition but now discarded once no longer “useful.” One of the larger pigeons even wore a tag on his leg — proof that he’d once been owned.
Bullen’s heart broke at the thought.
“They were a little bit stressed,” she said. “They were kind of pecking at each other … and most of them didn’t even know how to fly.”
Bullen carefully transported the pigeons to her mom’s house for temporary care until a licensed wildlife rescuer from Vaughn Animal Services arrived.
The rescuer later managed to safely recover the two pigeons that had flown up to the hydroline earlier that morning.
At the shelter, the birds were bathed, fed, and comforted, and eventually rehomed with the manager of Vaughn Wildlife Services — someone who could give them the safe, peaceful life they deserved.
In a heartfelt Facebook post after the rescue, Bullen urged others to show more compassion toward animals:
“At no point in time is it OK or acceptable to hurt or discard an animal like they are nothing.”
The experience left such a mark on her that she’s even considering starting her own bird sanctuary someday.
“Bring all the birds that need anything,” she said. “I will be of service to the birds.”
