Lauren from Abby on Argyle spotted this lost dog being taken in by Animal Care & Control on Avenue H and Rugby Road. ACC updates their lost animal database regularly, so you can check online to see if your animal has been brought to one of their Care Centers. Otherwise, call 311 for more information.
To claim a lost pet at ACC, you must go to the Care Center (the one in Brooklyn is at 2336 Linden Boulevard) and bring proof of ownership, such as a photo of the pet or a veterinarian record.
Brooklyn College is set to begin construction on a new athletic field at the back of the campus near Avenue H, with the potential completion date of summer, 2012. The softball and soccer teams are psyched, but what about those avian athletes who are using the current field most right now: What’s going to happen to the parrots?
They’re not going to have to leave the nest, per se. The school has given consideration to the flock of Monk parakeets that made the campus their home decades ago, and the construction includes bird-friendly plans.
“I was wonderfully surprised by their stated intentions to work around the parrots,” Steve Baldwin of BrooklynParrots.com, who gives monthly tours of the parrot colony on the campus, told us in an email. “It really seems to me that they’re employing ‘best practices’ for wild parrot conservation.”
Those best practices include doing the work around the birds’ mating schedule, and making sure the new lighting is welcoming for the flock. Though they will have to dismantle the existing nests to replace the light poles, the Daily News reports that BC has set aside about $5,000 to install nesting platforms on them.
These best practices have been picking up steam in recent years. Baldwin has been involved in a few projects where a lot of thought and resources were given to accommodating the existing parrot residents, and he’s heard of more on the way, in addition to the BC field.
“I also learned that a light replacement project in Pelham Bay Park includes the construction of ‘parrot baskets’ so that the parrots can go on living there,” he said.
Some aren’t crazy about these squawking neighbors, however. Students wonder about the birds fouling up the new field with feces, and Con Edison has long been an enemy of any nests found on transformers. But these are intelligent birds who will find a way to survive (these South American natives are thriving in Brooklyn, after all), so people may be better off working with them, and creating alternatives like these nesting platforms is a good beginning.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome, not just at BC but in all the recent renovations that have threatened to impact the birds,” Baldwin said. “There have been so many enlightened people out there who have stepped up to the plate and done the right thing by the parrots. It gives me much hope for humanity, as well as our avian friends!”
Did you lose your calico cat? Michael found this one last night around 2am on E 21st Street, between Glenwood and Farragut, and she followed him home. She’s a small calico (brown, black, and white) cat with yellow eyes, and a pink collar with a bell on it. “She’s very sweet and I hope we can reunite her with her family,” says Michael.
Speaking of cats, a neighbor found these two kittens in the area and has been fostering them for a few weeks. He’s hoping to find them a permanent home, together, because he says, “They are inseparable.” If you’re interested in giving them a home, email Boris at byakubov@bmpolmer.com.
A neighbor found this dog without a collar running down Avenue H near Westminster Road. It’s a friendly black dog with a curly coat along the back, and it’s got a bit of a cough. She’ll take it to Sean Casey in the morning to check for a microchip, but if you recognize the dog in the meantime (or, if you’re interested in adopting or fostering the dog if no owner is found and Sean Casey is unable to take it in), please call Sue at 718-859-5902 or 917-697-0567.
A couple of months ago, WNYC profiled neighbor and pigeon enthusiast Mohammad Asif. Now American Public Media gets in on the action, showing how pigeon racing is bringing together a variety of immigrants in our area:
Tending pigeons used to be a popular pastime in New York City in decades past, but most of the city’s rooftop coops are long gone. However, the hobby is getting new from immigrants like Asif, who brought the tradition with them from home.
Boris Mekhtiev, a barber from Turkmenistan, lives few blocks away. The two men met last year and bonded over their shared passion.
“Almost every week, he comes to my barber shop for cup of coffee,” said Mekhtiev, and they talk. “We’re feeling like we grow up together.”
Dr. Courtney Perry, a vet who is opening a clinic on Church Avenue in Ditmas Park this summer, will be doing an inexpensive microchipping event nearby next week. Following the event, they’ll have a scanner, so they’ll also be able to read microchips if you happen to find a pet on the street.
No appointment necessary to bring in your dog or cat to have them microchipped by Dr. Courtney Perry of PAWSitive Veterinary of New York. Microchips are about the size of a grain of rice, and when implanted under the skin, provide permanent identification for your pet. No sedation or anesthesia is necessary, the procedure itself takes just a few seconds and is similar to giving a vaccine. If your pet is lost, make sure they come home! We use ISO 15-digit international microchips from HomeAgain, a leader in microchip technology. Registration with HomeAgain not only includes registration in their National Pet Recovery Database, but also includes free access to their 24/7 Medical Emergency Helpline, Lost Pet Travel Assistance and More! So, don’t take the chance, get your pet microchipped! For more information about microchipping, visit the HomeAgain website at www.homeagain.com.
Microchipping Event: Saturday June 18th from 1-4pm Location: It’s A Dog’s World, 593 Coney Island Avenue Cost: $50 Special, includes implantation and registration with HomeAgain (a $16.99 savings on registration alone)
If you’re facing a dull weekend in Midwood because you aren’t observing Passover and the sabbath, it might be a great time to adopt a pet. Amber is a gorgeous, rare dilute tortie kitten looking for a home, and you’ll have all weekend to get comfortable with her.
Her profile is here, if you want more information.
In the years after World War II, tending pigeons was a popular hobby in the city. Pigeon coops were kept on hundreds of New York rooftops, and it was almost impossible to walk down the street in certain neighborhoods without seeing flocks of birds flying overhead.
But development and gentrification took their toll on rooftop coops, and the practice of keeping racing and homing pigeons nearly vanished entirely. But now some are bringing it back and others keeping the tradition alive.
One of them is Mohammad Asif, 52, who immigrated from Pakistan 25 years ago.
“The birds are like my kids. I love them,” he said.
Everyday he rushes from work at a construction company he owns to spend time at his coop.
“When I come back, I come on the roof and I fly my birds. Then I lie down and watch them,” he said…
Seven years ago Asif asked his brother to send him a few pigeons from their family coop. He got 12 pairs of Pakistani tipplers, graceful white pigeons with dark heads and tails. Today, he has dozens of them on the rooftop of his house in Midwood, Brooklyn.
Small World Pet Sitters and It’s a Dog’s World will be hosting a Cat Wellness and Behavior Seminar on Saturday, April 30 at 5:30pm. Dr. Courtney Perry, DVM (the neighborhood’s new vet), Marion the shop owner, and Donna a local rescuer will be leading the seminar. Topics will include litter box issues, a healthy diet, and much more. People are encouraged to bring a question or two. We hope you can attend.
The Daily News went on the most recent Wild Parrot Safari, a Quaker parrot tour given by Steve Baldwin, and describes the bright green Argentine natives as Brooklyn’s most colorful immigrants. They also have this update about construction on the Brooklyn College field where the biggest flock resides:
The athletic fields’ upcoming renovations, which call for the replacement of utility poles, could upset the birds’ habitat by scaring them away, Baldwin fears.
“It’s just another thing that keeps me up at night,” said Baldwin, an internet marketing executive.
A college spokesman said workers will be delicate around the nests and they’ll allow the parrots to take refuge atop the new poles when work is complete.
Doesn’t sound like the college is being as generous to the birds as the Parks Department, which went out of its way (and enlisted Baldwin’s help) to make sure a colony in Bay Ridge wasn’t traumatized during construction on a park there.
