Homing pigeon finally returns home a year after going missing

A lost homing pigeon from Poland has been reunited with its owner more than a year after it had gone missing. 

The poor pigeon was exhausted and dehydrated when it was handed in at Moor Cottage Veterinary Practice in Bracknell by a member of the public.  

The vets rehydrated the bird and gave it pain relief, while Moor Cottage clinical director Karolina Pionk began a determined search to track down its owner. 

Karolina explained: “The pigeon had identification rings on his leg which revealed he was from somewhere in Poland.  

“Unfortunately, the owner’s contact details were not legible, so we contacted the Royal Racing Pigeon Association in the UK for help.  

“They gave us a contact number for the Polish Racing Pigeon Association and, as I am Polish myself, I began trying to get in touch.  

“We also went onto the Polish website to determine which area of the country the pigeon was from.  

“By this time, we had christened him ‘Lech’ after a character in a Polish folk story.  

“Armed with all this information, I started to make calls and I was finally able to speak to the correct division in Poland who said they could trace the owner from one of the codes on the ring.  

“Then, after we had almost given up hope, I received a phone call from an unknown Polish number and the great news was that it was ‘Lech’s’ Polish owner!  

“He was very surprised to learn Lech was alive and well, as he had gone missing more than a year beforehand.  

“The owner quickly contacted a friend of his, who lives in London, to organise the collection of Lech from our clinic.  

“His friend then travelled by car to Poland a few days later and the owner and Lech were happily reunited.”  

Owner Adam Jakubas was thrilled to have his bird back at home in Poland and was full of praise at the dedication we went through to find the owner.

He said: “I was overwhelmed with the dedication of Karolina and the team at Moor Cottage who showed such concern and love for Lech.  

“I am extremely impressed with the amount of effort they went through in order to find me and the real dedication shown by the whole team to make this happen.”