A dad who saved a chick from drowning has welcomed it into his family and revealed the bird likes to snuggle in his beard and go for walks on a leash.
Philip Weston-Thomas, 42, spotted the bird struggling for survival while walking with his daughter and wife Rebecca around Roath Park Lake, Cardiff, in January.
His 14-year-old son spotted the young bird, prompting Philip to spring into action and pick it up from the frozen lake.
The pigeon, since named Bobbi, was frozen and shivering, so the family took her home to nurse her back to health.
After just 24 hours, Bobbi was back on his feet, and Philip and Rebecca, who works as a cancer nurse, planned to release him back into the wild when he was back to full health.
But Bobbi quickly joined the family, so the family made the decision to keep him as a pet. Now Bobbi enjoys going for walks, wandering around the house, and resting in Philip’s beard.
Philip Weston-Thomas, from Wales, is pictured with baby pigeon Bobbi nestled in his beard.
The housewife father rescued the young bird from drowning in a lake and since then they have been joined at the hip.
Bobbi wears ‘pigeon pants’ that act as a diaper and the family ties his leash to them so they can take him for walks.
“In January this year we were walking through Roath Park in Cardiff and my daughter saw Bobbi in the water and she was in danger,” the stay-at-home dad said.
‘I could see it didn’t look good. I took off my socks and shoes, pulled up my jeans and went under the bridge to catch the pigeon.
“I didn’t think he would make it; he was panting and on his last legs. “It was also very cold that day, parts of Roath Park Lake were frozen over.
“We caught it, wrapped it and brought it home, but I wasn’t sure if it would survive or not.”
‘At first it was just a matter of warming it up and giving it a comfortable place to nest.
“We were giving him pieces of fruit and cereal, and it was about 24 hours before he really started to show signs of getting back to normal and moving around a little.
‘The initial plan was to make sure he was healthy and then remove and release him.
“We quickly realized it was a pigeon, about four weeks old, based on what we gathered.
“We considered looking for a rescue or charity, but he had started to bond with the family, especially my daughter, and we decided we would like to keep him and look after him ourselves.
“He’s relatively independent, but I think he sees us as the herd.”
Philip says Bobbi, who likes to relax with his beard, has freedom in the house during the day.
Philip says the family can’t take Bobbi out for a walk without people stopping them.
The sweet snaps show Bobbi resting on Philip’s neck and snuggling into his furry beard during their outings.
Bobbi is free in the house during the day and is equipped with “pigeon pants,” small pieces of cloth designed to act as diapers for pigeons.
The family even takes Bobbi for walks, with a custom leash designed to attach to specialized pants, but they say they can’t go five yards without being stopped.
“We bring him food and let him do whatever he wants around the house,” Philip said.
‘We make sure they have food, water and a container to bathe in, because they like water and they like to stay clean.
‘We change the pants regularly to make sure they are clean and there is no waste in them. At the end of the night, she takes off her pants and goes back to the cage and goes to sleep.
‘If it’s a nice day and we go somewhere quiet, we’ll take him for a walk; We have a small leash that we tie to the pigeon’s pants so we can go for a walk.
“We usually get stopped every five meters because people have never seen a pigeon wearing pants, let alone walking on a leash.
‘When we go somewhere in the car, he sits on my shoulder, whether he’s the passenger or the driver.
Philip and Rebecca have now started sharing their adventures with Bobbi on their TikTok, after seeing people’s response in person.
Philip says Bobbi is curious, watching everything and making ‘little noises’ while resting on his beard.
“In general, he is very friendly and likes to be pampered, but he has moments when he is sick of people and will give you a little kiss to tell you to leave him alone.”
“He is very curious, even when he is sitting on a perch, he observes everything and makes little noises. He has his own personality.
Philip and Rebecca have now started sharing their adventures with Bobbi on their TikTok, after seeing people’s response in person.
“We’ve only been doing it for about a week, but the response we’re getting has been very positive,” Philip said.
“So far it’s been a positive response, but I’m very aware that there will be people who don’t think we should have rescued or preserved it.” But now he has naturally become part of the family.