Harold loved to be near the swimming pool.  He was still a youngster and enjoyed being around his mate that he bonded with for life.

He was once told that he was “too emotional” but it didn’t seem to bother him.  He also scored very high on his IQ test and directional tests.  So he knew that he was smart.  He had a great nose for discovering new places and finding lost items for many people.

And he was fast!  He was almost as fast as the greyhound was in the dog world.  But he loved staying close to his family.

Unfortunately, when Harold was about 6 months old, a man named “Sweetie” Hernandez noticed how incredibly strong he was.  Sweetie began a vigorous program of training him to be an Olympic racer.

Harold enjoyed the speed and discipline of training.  He was a natural and soon Sweetie began entering him into various racing venues.

It was a hot day in June on a Sunday afternoon that Harold visited a swimming pool in New Jersey.  He didn’t realize how far away from home he was as his journey began in Ohio; his final destination was his home in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  And Harold really missed his mate and his family.  He was tired and thirsty as he explored this majestic swimming pool with massive shade umbrellas and comfortable luxurious lounge recliners.  A water fountain of rainbow colors exploded from the middle of the pool.

Then Harold noticed a bar, an entire new outdoor kitchen, a pizza oven, and a gigantic TV, blaring his favorite musical tune “Free Bird” by Lynnard Skinner.  He decided to hang out in this new found paradise for awhile. As he was lounging in one of the comfortable chairs, Harold noticed a couple in the pool.  They were shocked to see a visitor intruding in their yard.

The woman seemed kind as she approached him but the man was a bit anxious.  Harold decided that he would sit by the man to allay his anxieties. It was then that the women noticed Harold’s wristband.  She also noticed how physically perfect his structure was. She bent over to read his yellow numbers on the band and then she proceeded to grab her cell phone and make a call.

Would these people capture him? Or would they help him get back home?

Harold held back; he was unsure.

As the women spoke on the phone, the man continued to stare at him.  The man asked him where he was from but Harold didn’t answer.  He was very tired and very thirsty.

The woman then offered him water and rice but he only drank the water.

She continued a heated conversation with her husband as it approached dusk.

Harold decided that he would continue on his journey home early the next morning as the magnetic forces would be stronger then.

The couple went inside but he refused to join them.  Harold could tell that they were very impressed with his presence as they snapped three photographs of him.

The next morning, he said farewell to the lovely couple who kindly gave him refuge for the night.

That evening, he returned home to his family in Perth Amboy.  His mate was happy to see him but the rest of the family wasn’t thrilled at his return.

Harold had to then make an important decision.  He would leave “the family” and take his mate to a new destination. They headed for New York City – the Big Apple.  There would be plenty of resources there, especially in that giant place called Central Park.  There would be an ample water supply and food and places to rest.

Yes, Harold and his mate began a new life that summer in Central Park.

A sweet young girl approached them as they sat on a park bench together.

“Look, Mom,” she said. “These beautiful birds have a yellow band with numbers around them.”

“Yes,” her Mom told her. “They are beauties; they are racing pigeons.”

“Oh, my,” said her daughter. “Can we adopt them?”

This was music to Harold’s ears.

Sweetie obviously, didn’t want him anymore since he lost that pigeon race from Ohio. So he and his mate followed the young girl and her mother to their swank Park Avenue terrace. Harold and his mate then lived happily ever after for ten more years on the ledge of that terrace.

He had no desire to fly far and away again.  The little girl Julia loved them both dearly.