Slog - Comments on When Pigeon Meets Syringe

Comment by flamingbanjo

flamingbanjo — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:15:36 -0800

It's really only a hygiene problem if the pigeon is sharing that needle.

Comment by JC

JC — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:19:01 -0800

Yesterday, on the sidewalk, next to the rubble that used to be Kincora, Manray, and such... I saw what appeared to be a mummified rat.

Pretty much like this:
http://www.unexco.com/gallery/mummyrat.jpg

It's no pigeon with a syringe in it's head, but damn...

Comment by COMTE

COMTE — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:19:03 -0800

Yes, things like this NEVER happen in other big cities - in NYC the rats of course are so big they can actually order table-service instead of dining al fresco, and in our sister-city to the north, Vancouver, the pigeons are allowed to use the city-sponsored "shooting galleries" to partake of their smack.

Clearly, we poor, provincial Seattleites will never earn the cache of being a "world class city" until we can provide similar amenities for our urban vermin.

Comment by left coast

left coast — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:26:23 -0800

I'd really be interested in what our return on investment is in this city. I feel as though I'm paying a lot in taxes (and parking tickets) and getting very little in return in the way of services. I love the library, but the port is corrupted, the police don't seem to be protecting us and the Seattle schools are terrible. I hate to sound like a broken record, but our mayor is corrupt and incompetent.

Comment by gfrancie

gfrancie — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:28:35 -0800

I recall once seeing around 2nd and Pike a couple of pigeons dining on old fried chicken. It was a pretty disturbing sight but I think the pigeon with the needle has topped that.

Comment by Dr. Savage Mudede

Dr. Savage Mudede — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:39:39 -0800

@4: At least all of Seattle's parking enforcement officers have Segways (at $8,000 apiece) to prevent them from having to walk from meter to meter!

Comment by Michigan Matt

Michigan Matt — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:02:52 -0800

She should've stepped on it to put the poor thing out of its misery. Lordy!

Comment by Jo

Jo — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:16:15 -0800

I wonder what it says about me that what bothers me about this post is that the poor pigeon was probably in a lot of pain and I don't know if someone stopped and helped it get the needle out.

Comment by keshmeshi

keshmeshi — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:33:11 -0800

Last week, I walked past two puddles vomit, both presumably emanating from the same person. It contained undigested chunks of bread, and there was so much vomit, it pretty much covered the entire sidewalk.

Comment by Trish

Trish — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:39:01 -0800

@8:
I say better the pigeon getting stuck with it than the pigeon AND someone trying to yank it out.
This is very eww. Now I know why everyone says pigeons are dirty birds!

Comment by Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:42:58 -0800

I actually saw that pigeon in right about the same place a week or two ago. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because I just saw it quickly. This is, I suppose, confirmation that I wasn't going crazy. So, for what it's worth, it appears to be a chronic condition for this pigeon rather than a fatal one (or if fatal, at least not immediately so).

Comment by kinaidos

kinaidos — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:46:45 -0800

Yeah, well you try being a pigeon and shooting up, David. First you've got these tiny little legs you've got to find a vein in. Then you've got to try to hold the syringe with a frigging wing. And you've got the pigeon-parkinsons head bobbing crap going on all the time. Of course you'd stick yourself in the head with a needle every now and then.

Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale

Lloyd Clydesdale — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:11:54 -0800

Sometimes it's worse to be unlucky than stupid.

Comment by onion

onion — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:20:46 -0800

Hot tipper Melyssa seems to be a somewhat callous hot tipper - her primary comments were "disgusting" and "what a clean (sarcasm) city."
Who cares about how it might threaten our sense of "sanitary."
What about that poor pigeon?

And crows are omnivores, and scavengers to boot. Seattle has a big rat problem. We're pretty lucky that crows are around to clean up such "messes."

Comment by DJSauvage

DJSauvage — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:34:18 -0800

I can't wait to see this bird on Intervention!

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:54:42 -0800

"Poor pigeon"? Geez, get a grip.

Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale

Lloyd Clydesdale — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:16:46 -0800

What, Fnarf, "insignificant, dummy pigeon"?

Comment by dre

dre — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:31:12 -0800

there should be a black metal song about this. awesome.

Comment by dj girth

dj girth — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:41:43 -0800

I saw that same bird (or another one with the same affliction) a week or so ago at the 3rd and Union bus stop as well. Two junkies were laughing at it. It sorta felt like they had something to do with it.

Comment by JC

JC — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:45:51 -0800

I nominate this pigeon as the official mascot of Seattle.

Comment by monkey

monkey — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:49:58 -0800

Does your cell phone NOT have a camera on it?

This just screams "Flickr Photo of the Day"

Comment by greendyke

greendyke — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:08:47 -0800

Jesus fuck. This pigeon has been walking around like this for three weeks and at least three Sloggers have seen it and fucking NO ONE in Seattle has helped it? I am ashamed to be a human being.

Comment by COMTE

COMTE — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:18:15 -0800

Greendyke:

All kidding aside, you ever try to catch a pigeon? Even one with a needle sticking out of its head is going to be nigh-on impossible to corral, and frankly, I personally wouldn't feel all that comfortable trying to wrap my hands around a squirming bird with the business end of somebody's works pointing in my direction.

And while it may seem callous and inhumane, I would point out that the poor bird is apparently surviving, so that says something for the resiliency of columba livia.

Comment by wbrproductions

wbrproductions — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:20:19 -0800

I'm gonna stop at Kentucky Fried Pigeon on the way home from work. As I down the entire bucket of pigeon, I won't feel even one small pang of guilt. I wonder of you can get a buzz from eating a freshly injected pigeon...?

Comment by JC

JC — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:20:45 -0800

@22: Who the hell is going to pull a dirty syringe out of a dirty pigeon? That's like asking for a disease. You wanna try and pry a used needle out of a flapping bird?

Comment by DJSauvage

DJSauvage — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:40:57 -0800

@22: I apologize for laughing when your post made me picture a female Jolly green giant chasing a bird with a needle in it's head.

Comment by j bomb

j bomb — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:14:38 -0800

PICS OR IT NEVER HAPPENED.

Comment by kanicholas

kanicholas — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:12:27 -0800

What, you've never seen a pigeon get mercilessly squashed by the front tires of a Metro bus? You've never seen one get run over by a sppeding car while the pigeon was trying to woo a mate? Never seen one whose body was crushed but the head was still intact so that all it could do was squirm until it died?

They're STUPID birds. The only way you can deal with seeing this kind of shit is to turn away and try to forget. And call them "stupid."

I mean, of course there are some humans that are stupid enough to try and mate in the middle of the road, but they're more likely to be avoided by traffic. Or arrested. Never seen one of Seattle's Finest trying to haul a bird to the cage, believe me.