A dad who saved a baby pigeon from drowning has welcomed it into his family – and revealed the bird likes to nestle in his beard and walk on a leash.
Philip Weston-Thomas, 42, saw the bird struggling to survive while walking around Roath Park Lake, Cardiff, with his daughter and wife Rebecca in January.
Their 14-year-old spotted the young bird, prompting Philip to take action and scoop it out of the icy lake.
The pigeon, which has since been named Bobbi, was freezing and shaking, so the family took it home to nurse it back to health.
After just 24 hours, Bobbi was back on his feet, while Philip and Rebecca, who work as a cancer nurse, plan to release him back into the wild when he is fully healthy again.
But Bobbi quickly bonded with the family, so the household decided to keep him as a pet. Now Bobbi loves to go for walks, wander around the house and rest in Philip’s beard.
Philip Weston-Thomas, from Wales, is pictured with baby pigeon Bobbi in his beard
The stay-at-home dad saved the young bird from drowning in a lake and they’ve been joined at the hip ever since
Bobbi wears ‘pigeon pants’ that double as a diaper and the family attaches his leash to them so they can take him on walks
“In January this year we were walking through Roath Park in Cardiff and my daughter saw Bobbi in the water and he was in distress,” the stay-at-home dad said.
‘I saw it didn’t look good. I took off my socks and shoes, rolled up my jeans and climbed under the bridge to fish the pigeon out.
“I didn’t think it would make it; he was gasping for breath and was on his last legs. It was also particularly cold that day; parts of Roath Park lake were frozen.
‘We fished him out, wrapped him up and took him home, but I wasn’t sure if he would survive or not.
‘At first it was about warming him up and giving him a comfortable place to nest.
‘We gave him pieces of fruit and cereal, and it took about 24 hours for him to really start showing signs of getting back to normal and moving around a bit.
“The original plan was to make sure it was healthy, then take it back and release it.
‘We soon realized it was a young pigeon – about four weeks old from what we collected.
‘We considered looking for a rescue or charity, but it started to connect with the family, especially my daughter – and we decided we wanted to keep it and look after it ourselves.
“It’s relatively independent, but I think it sees us as the herd.”
Philip says Bobbi, who likes to relax in his beard, has free rein in the house during the day
Philip says the family can’t take Bobbi for a walk without people stopping them
Sweet snaps show Bobbi resting on Philip’s neck and snuggling into his furry beard during their outings.
Bobbi has free rein in the house during the day and is equipped with ‘pigeon pants’: small pieces of fabric that serve as a diaper for pigeons.
The family even takes Bobbi out for a walk, with a custom-made leash designed to attach to the special trousers, but say they can’t make it five meters without being stopped.
“We put food out for him and let him do whatever he wants in the house,” Philip said.
‘We make sure he has food, water and a bowl to bathe in because they love water and like to keep themselves clean.
‘We change the trousers regularly to ensure they are clean and free of waste. At the end of the night the pants come off and he is back in the cage and goes to sleep.
‘If it’s a nice day and we go somewhere quiet, we take him for a walk. We have a strap that we attach to the pigeon pants so that we can go for a walk.
‘Usually we get stopped every five meters because people have never seen a pigeon in trousers, let alone walking on a leash.
‘When we go somewhere by car, it sits on my shoulder, whether I’m the passenger or the driver.
Philip and Rebecca have now started sharing their adventures with Bobbi on their TikTok after seeing people’s reactions in person
Philip says Bobbi is curious, watches everything and makes “little noises” while resting in his beard
‘For the most part he’s very friendly and likes to be fussed over, but he also has times when he gets fed up with people and he’ll give you a quick kiss to tell you to leave him alone.
‘He’s very curious, even though he’s just sitting on a stick, he keeps an eye on everything and makes little noises. He has his own little personality.”
Philip and Rebecca have now started sharing their adventures with Bobbi on their TikTok after seeing people’s reactions in person.
“We’ve only been working on it for about a week, but the feedback we’re getting is very positive,” says Philip.
‘So far the response has been positive, but I am aware that there will be those who do not believe we should have saved or preserved it. But of course he’s become part of the family now.’