Owner of exotic bird found in Lexington pizza spot didn’t want it returned
A lost diamond dove employees at a Lexington pizza joint helped rescue last week has now found a new home.
In a Sept. 24 Facebook post, Lexington-Fayette Animal Care & Control wrote it had received a call from employees at Sir Pizza on New Circle Road who spotted a possibly injured bird in need of rescue.
At the time, officials suspected the exotic bird was an escaped pet. Now, the agency reports the bird has found a new home.
Jai Hamilton, the lead cruelty investigator for LFACC, told the Herald-Leader via email the bird has since recovered after it was placed in the care of a local expert. Its previous owner assumed the bird was dead after it flew away from home and did not want the tiny dove back.
“Luckily the dove pulled through,” Hamilton wrote. It has a new owner to look after it.
Diamond doves aren’t native to the U.S., but Australia, where they live in deserts in the country’s interior. Bird lovers enjoy keeping them because of their small stature, beautiful appearance and relatively easy upkeep.
The diamond dove’s defining natural features are a dark gray coat with white specks and a long, slender tail. There are also mutations in white and silver. The soft cooing sounds diamond doves make are often preferable to squawking birds, such as parrots.
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