Alexandria Animal Control Report: Fire Truck Assists in Parrot Rescue

Animal Control officers in Alexandria deal with a variety of calls every week. Here's a glance at some recent incidents in the city courtesy of Patrick Egan of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

Parrot Gets Too High — We’ve heard of the Alexandria Fire Department rescuing cats in trees, but birds of flight?

That’s just what happened recently in the West End.

On Sept. 14, an Animal Control officer as called out to the intersection of Holmes Run Parkway and South Jenkins Street after a parrot belonging to a nearby resident had flown into a nearby tree. The parrot landed some 40-feet up and near some power lines. It was higher than the parrot had ever flown before and it seemed scared to fly down.  

The officer did not have equipment that could reach the bird, so he contacted the fire supervisor for suggestions. Eventually, Ladder Truck 204 from Fire Station 208 arrived on the scene.

Positioning the ladder proved challenging because of the power lines, other trees and condition of the street. Once the ladder was extended, the officer couldn’t read the parrot with his longest net pole.

Ultimately, the officer used the net pole to shake the tree branch the parrot was sitting on and it flew down and landed on its owner’s shoulder.

Dove Rescue — On Sept. 16, an Animal Control officer responded to the 3100 block of S. 28th Street after a caller reported two nesting doves found in a box. There were no signs of the nest or parents.

The officer took the young birds back to the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter. They were later transferred to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Alexandria Shelter Walk — AWLA will host its second annual Alexandria Shelter Walk for Homeless Animals on Oct. 20 at Market Square in Old Town. Dogs are welcome, and walkers are encouraged to bring their canine friends.

The event is the only fundraising walk that benefits AWLA and the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter.

For more information and to register, please visit the event website.