Seattle’s Home for Pigeon Rescues, Adoptions, Medical Care Access, Resources, Education, and Outreach
Cascadia Pigeon Rescue
We exist for the ones left behind.
For the pigeons — misunderstood, abandoned, and too often overlooked. Domestic birds who rely on humans, yet are left to struggle on their own.
Caring for them is not charity. It is responsibility. Humans made them vulnerable. Now it is on us to protect them, speak for them, and ensure they are never forgotten.
We are protectors. We are teachers. We are builders of community. Because when people truly see pigeons, they see resilience, beauty, and worth — and they fight for them, too.
Compassion guides us. Stewardship drives us. Community sustains us.
This is who we are.
This is Cascadia Pigeon Rescue.
Our Ethos
Cascadia Pigeon Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and placement of domestic and feral pigeons in safe, loving homes. Since its founding, the organization has provided direct rescue services and ensured that sick, injured, abandoned, and surrendered pigeons receive needed veterinary care by transporting them to licensed veterinarians, often several times a week, with extensive costs covered out of pocket. Birds that cannot be released, such as disabled or imprinted pigeons, receive lifelong care in sanctuaries, foster homes, or adoptive homes. Every foster and adoptive placement is carefully vetted through applications, interviews, and home inspections to ensure pigeons are placed in secure, enriched environments where they can live safe and happy lives.
Beyond direct rescue, Cascadia Pigeon Rescue is building a volunteer network, developing educational resources on pigeon care, and collaborating with established rescue partners across the country. We are creating a website and social media presence to share our mission, highlight adoptable birds, provide educational resources, and raise awareness. In the future, we plan to establish a dedicated rehabilitation center, expand outreach through educational pamphlets and materials, and raise funds through the sale of pigeon-themed merchandise, with all proceeds supporting our rescue and rehabilitation work.
Looking ahead, Cascadia Pigeon Rescue is committed to growing carefully and sustainably. We are committed to operating responsibly within the limits of the law, including all requirements for 501(c)(3) nonprofits as well as state and federal laws governing pigeons and wild birds. With a strong foundation of passion, volunteer commitment, and community support, we believe that our mission will not only improve the lives of pigeons but also foster greater compassion and understanding for these often neglected, misunderstood, and mistreated birds.
About Cascadia
I found a bird, help!
We are here to help you get birds to a safe place where they can begin their recovery
Here’s what to do:
Step 1: CONTAIN IT! It doesn’t matter how hurt you think it is or whether or not you think it can fly. You MUST put it in a bag, box, or animal carrier. Sometimes, even just wrapping it in a towel or spare shirt will do if you don’t have access to a better solution.
Their bites cannot hurt you and they will not try to bite you—they just want to get away from you. There is nothing a pigeon can do to injure you. Pigeons have zero defenses aside from escape; they will try to move suddenly to startle you and then get away, but that is the only trick they have up their sleeve.
Also, a pigeon will NOT get you sick. They can occasionally look pretty dirty if they’re lying very sick or injured on city streets but I assure you if you just practice normal hygiene and wash your hands after handling a particularly yucky-looking little stinky bird, you will be FINE.
Pigeons are not considered significant carriers or spreaders of H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) and are generally regarded as a low-risk species for infection and transmission. They are unusually resistant to bird flu.
Whatever you do, just don’t leave it on the ground or loose outside if at all possible. If you can’t catch it, call Christina immediately (contact info below). She will walk you through how to catch it or find someone to help you.
Step 2: Contact Christina, Executive Director of Cascadia, at (206) 962-9718. If there’s a chance it might be an emergeny and you’re not sure, call (don’t text) ASAP, day or night. Call for the quickest response time, text if you can wait a few hours. Only email if you have a non-emergency.
Step 3: Don’t worry—Christina will get to you as soon as she can, but we can’t always ensure that pickup will be immediate. Calling every ten or fifteen minutes is fine (and not a bad idea) if you can’t get ahold of her but she is usually highly responsive, If you need to take the bird home, place a soft little blanket or towel in the bottom of your chosen container (even if it’s just a large tote or paper bag) and find a quiet place to let the bird rest in the dark. Please keep the lid on the box or the top of the container shut so the bird cant get out and make sure there are air holes—sometimes people are surprised when birds suddenly find the strength to escape their container. If you have cats, dogs, or kids too.young to understand the situation, please place the bird on a bathroom counter or somewhere pets can’t access it and shut the door to keep other animals and kids out. The area the bird is kept in should be comfortably warm but not hot, preferably, and absolutely not cold, as they lose their ability to thermoregulate properly when sick, starving, or injured.
Food & Water
Not all food is appropriate for pigeons or doves, so unless we tell you what to feed them, just avoid giving any food for now. If the bird seems disoriented or unsteady or out of it in any way, or if you’re just not sure, avoid giving water. Even if pickup is not immediate, we will give you instructions on any food or water they may need. Just call and ask about it!
Contact Us
NOTE: This form is for non-emergency use only. If you have a bird, please contact Christina at (206) 962-9718
Interested in donating to CPR?
Interested in adopting?
Need information about caring for your pigeon or dove at home?
Want information about veterinary resources or help finding an excellent avian vet in the greater Seattle area?
Do you have any question at all about pigeons or doves?
We Always Need Volunteers!
Interested in working with us? Fill out the form using the link below and we will be in touch shortly!
Founder’s Story
On a freezing February night, I stopped at a gas station and noticed a small pigeon huddled under a light. She was standing in filth, her wing broken and dragging, trying to survive the cold. The kind employee had been offering her scraps of food, but didn’t know what else to do. She looked like she was waiting to die.
I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to catch her, but when she tried to run, it was clear she couldn’t get far. My friend and I gently scooped her up, wrapped her in a knit hat, and took her home. She was terrified. I spent the next day and a half calling every wildlife center, rehabber, and vet I could find, only to hear the same answer: if she couldn’t be released, she would be euthanized. Some told me she could never have a quality life without flight. I knew nothing about pigeons at the time, and I almost believed them.
Just as I was driving her to a rehabber to be euthanized, a message came through on Facebook from someone connected with a pigeon rescue. She said she could help us help the bird — and wanted to meet that night. That meeting changed everything.
She checked the pigeon over, showed me how to set up her space, what to feed her, and even gave me the number of a vet who treated pigeons. That vet saved her life, amputating the injured wing. I named her Bella. She became my shadow, watching hummingbirds from her armchair by the window, navigating my apartment on ramps I built for her, and teaching me more than I ever imagined about pigeons. I fell in love with her resilience, her silliness, her intelligence, and her strange, captivating expressions.
From Bella forward, I couldn’t stop. Once I learned to really see pigeons, I saw suffering everywhere — birds tangled in string, starving, injured, abandoned. I learned how to catch them, to help them, and to work with others who were doing the same. In just a few years, I’ve had a hand in rescuing hundreds.
But I’ve also learned this: doing it alone is unsustainable. The suffering is too widespread. Rescue matters deeply, and Cascadia will always save birds in immediate need — but real, lasting change requires more. It requires community, education, legal reform, and humane solutions that address the larger systems allowing pigeons to be neglected, mistreated, and left behind.
Cascadia Pigeon Rescue was born from that one night at a gas station—and from Bella, the little pigeon who pulled back the veil for me. Her story is the beginning of ours. I hope to be like the woman from Facebook who helped me with Bella, whose kindness and guidance made all of this possible—always there with open arms for any bird in need.
— Christina Gravalis, Founder