Hand Release of Doves

Sometimes we get requests for releasing the doves by hand.  Charles Cole has a great YouTube video illustrating the proper way of handling and releasing doves.

Check it out, as always if there is a question or a need for a dove release call 609-758-5741 or check out our website at http://www.dovesforrelease.com/  we will be more than happy to help.

Doves a Memorial Gift

On the anniversary of a loved ones death we are often times reminded of their importance to us, and that we miss them.  I had the opportunity of participating in a memorial service at the Princeton Cemetery on April 7th for Nicholas, a young man who was tragically killed in an automobile accident five years ago. It was his aunt Nancy who gave the white dove release to his parents John and Laura. Nancy also put this reading together which I would like to include.

Life is like a train ride…………………………………………..by Steve Polittle

Life is like a train ride. We get on.  We Ride. We get off.  We get back on and ride some more.  There are accidents and there are delays.  At certain stops there are surprises.  Some of these will translate into great moments of joy; some will result in profound sorrow......

When we are born and when we first board the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the entire journey.  Those people are our parents.

Sadly, this is far from the truth.  Our parents are with us for as long as we absolutely need them.  They too, have journeys they must complete.  We live on with the memories of their love, affection, friendship, guidance and their ever presence.

There are others who board the train and who eventually become very important to us as well.

These people are our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances, who we will learn to love and cherish...

 Some people consider their journey like a jaunty tour; they will just go merrily along.

Others will encounter many upsets, tears, and losses on their journey.  Others still, will linger on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.

Some people on the train will leave an everlasting impression when they get off. (Nicholas surely did!!)

Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will scarily leave a sign that they ever traveled along with you- or ever crossed your path.

We will sometimes be upset that some passengers, whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment and leave us to travel on our own.  Then again, there's nothing that says we can’t seek them out anyway.

Nevertheless, once sought out and found, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will be taken

That's ok, everyone's journey will be filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, setbacks and goodbye's We must strive to make the best of it.......no matter what!

We must constantly strive to understand our travel companions and look for the best in everyone.

Remember that at any moment during our journey- any one of our travel companions can have a weak moment and be in need of our help

We too, may vacillate or hesitate- even trip….  Hopefully we can count on someone being there- and to be supportive and understanding.

The bigger mystery of our journey is that we don’t know when our last stop will come.  Neither do we know when our travel companions will make their last stop -not even those sitting in the seat next to us.

I know we will be sad to make our final stop.  I’m sure of it.  Our separation from all those friends and acquaintances we made during the train ride will be painful.  Leaving all those we are close to will be a sad thing.  But then again I am certain, that one day we will get to the main station only to meet up with everyone else. We will all be carrying our baggage.  Most of which we didn’t have when we first got on the train.

As Ashley said last year in her beautifully written poem:

This she knows for sure:

We wouldn’t be together this day,

We wouldn’t be so strong

We wouldn’t be so close.

And we wouldn’t have come this far……….

We are all on this train ride together.  Above all we should strive to make the ride as pleasant and memorable as we can, right up until we each make the final stop and leave the train for the last time. 

Thank you all for taking this train ride with Nicholas and our family.

Thank you for supporting each other and honoring Nicholas on this day.

If you are planning a memorial service and would like our assistance call us at 609-758-5741 and as always check out our site at www.dovesforrelease.com

The Problem With PETA

It was brought to my attention that Reese Witherspoon got married on March 26th in fact the link was sent to me directing me to Faded Youth Blog.  So I read the article and it announced the marriage of Reese Witherspoon to Jim Toth. It talked about that they got married in Ojai CA on March 26th and the individuals who participated in the ceremony.  The article covered some of the guests that were present such as Conan O'brien.  Then as a conclusion of the ceremony 80 doves were released,  which the article had a picture of some of the birds flying.  I'm thinking to myself this is great publicity in promoting dove releases.  But at the very end of the article it goes on to say that they asked PETA for their thoughts on Dove Releases, and this is what one of their representatives had to say.

"White doves are specifically bred for release and used by thoughtless event planners. Because doves are flock animals, they have very little chance of surviving on their own when they are released at events. Sending white doves into the air after having kept them confined for their entire lives is tantamount to abandoning a household companion animal in the woods 10 miles from home and should be as illegal. The initial release confuses doves, especially if it’s done at night (when many celebrations take place). Doves are diurnal, so being exposed at night already puts them at a disadvantage. In the confusion of the moment, the birds dissipate and flounder into the night. Come morning, these doves are on their own. Unless they are lucky enough to find a flock of pigeons or other doves to join up with, they won’t survive. However, even if they do find other birds to hang out with, the disoriented doves will remain an easy target for hawks and other predators"

This type of misinformation just sets my blood to boil.  I'm a firm believer that animals need to be treated with respect and their handling needs to provide them with the highest form of safety.  When one looks at the picture of the birds in the article it is easy to identify them as homing pigeons and not ring neck doves.  It is this misinformation that confuses individuals who want to do the right thing and yet want to enjoy these beautiful animals.  My hat is off to Reese for releasing the doves it looks like it was a beautiful event.  If you have any questions or comments email me at dovesforrelease@yahoo.com  check out my website at http://www.dovesforrelease.com/ 

Susie Moore; 109 Years Young, Oldest Memorial Service I've Done

Some funeral services are very hard for me to do.  The death of a child, gang related killing or even a suicide when someone just feels life is not worth living.  We are affected by those who loose their life to illness or unexpected accidents and we feel there was so much potential life left to live and it causes us a lot of grief and pain in their passing.  I have been told that even in these situations the releasing of white doves help them in this grieving process, and gives them a sense of peace.

Last Monday I was at a funeral and was asked who was the oldest individual that I had the opportunity of doing a dove release for?  The answer to that question is Susie Moore who lived to be 109 years old.  I got to be thinking how different the world was since her birth of 1901 and of the things that she had experienced.

I want to thank Xenia Ware  and the James H. Hunt Funeral Home for allowing me to be involved in the celebration of Susie Moore's life in the releasing of doves at her memorial service.  We released 4 doves at the Jersey Shore Convalescent Center located at 2050 sixth ave, Neptune city NJ.  I released three doves first, representing the Trinity and Xenia released the fourth dove representing the spirit of Susie.  Those who were there I believe experienced a tremendous sense of peace and comfort knowing Susie was at a better place.

I would like to end with this poem.

"Little Dove"

On the wings of this white dove

I'll set your spirit free.

Up into the big deep sky,

to heaven, where you'll be.

I know God has a plan for us,

he wants us by his side.

But it is hard for us to understand

when we are left behind.

Little dove, help lift our hearts

as we watch you go,

God is there if we just ask,

because He loves us so.

If you are looking for doves to release for a funeral or memorial service check out our website http://www.dovesforrelease.com/ or email us at dovesforrelease@yahoo.com.

Doves vs Butterflies: Bliss Weddings Post made in 2002

Questions and interest continue to be made in regards to the decision if one should use doves or butterflies in their wedding ceremonies. Since  I raise doves (white homing pigeons) I have a bias in the release of doves.  Using a professional dove handler the birds are trained and managed in a way to guarantee the highest safety of their return home. The handler can work with your photographer to capture those special moments on film and can work with your wedding coordinator to personalise your release.  I found this old post and I thought I would put it on my blog to encourage dialogue. Please check it out.

http://www.pashweddings.com/weddingforums/showthread.php?t=486


If you have had butterflies at your wedding, or you are researching the use of butterflies for an event please share that information with us.  Maybe you raise butterflies or know someone who does, I'm sure butterflies are handled differently since 2002 would like to post that information.  If you have any questions about our birds email us at dovesforrelease@yahoo.com  or check out our site at http://www.dovesforrelease.com/

Hawks: Nemises of the Doves

Ask anyone who raises doves or pigeons "What is their number one frustration with the birds?" and they will most often tell you their experiences with the hawks.  In fact when the hawks migrate from November till April their are some dove companies that limit their releases or in fact do no releases through those months because of the bird losses they experience.  I will admit that we do have some losses to the hawks  but because of some of our practices I believe we keep our losses to a minimum.   The following are some things we do.

It has been our experience that hawks seem to be creatures of habit.  Because we know that the hawk seems to be around the loft lets say in the morning we take the birds on training tosses after 12:00.  By the way the hawk most often we have trouble with is called a Cooper Hawk.  We are outside when the birds arrive to discourage and to observe whether hawks are in the area.  The birds are most vulnerable when taking off and landing.  We believe in taking our birds on tosses rather than allowing free flight because the doves when given the opportunity of free flight will often go to the trees since they are close to home which allows them to be an easy target for the hawk. A healthy pigeon or rock dove in flight will out fly most variety of hawks.  So our first precaution is to vary the times of our training tosses.

Our doves are locked down at all times.  We feel that it is important for us to control the activity of the doves and we want to minimize the amount of time they are exposed to the elements so the only time they are out is when they have been released for a trainning toss or a ceremonial release.  The design of our loft allows the dove to come in, but there is no way he can get out.  So our second precaution is to control the amount of time the dove has to being outside.

One of the controls a handler has on his doves is hunger.  When we take the doves out on a trainning toss the toss is allways done before they are fed.  Remember when I said that the dove is most vulnerable when taking off and landing.  When the bird comes home and he is hungry he will go in the loft quickly because he is hungry rather than hanging in the trees where it is a target for the hawk.  Our doves know food and water is waiting for them so they trap quickly.  So food and water is a great motivater for keeping the doves on their toes.

Our birds are exercised year round, a healthy well conditioned dove is not an easy target.  Even with all the precautions we take we do occasionaly lose a bird.  But it has been our experience that the birds we lose tend to be the less desireable ones and I think in some ways the hawk is natures way of keeping the overall flock healthier.  If you are looking for ceremonial doves check out our website at http://www.dovesforrelease.com/  if you are out of our service area I can steer you in the right direction, if you have any questions email me at dovesforrelease@yahoo.com

Memorial Doves



Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest- Psalm 55:6

Since the beginning of recorded history tranquility and peace have been associated with the dove.  The releasing of a dove at a memorial or funeral is an appropriate way of  saying goodbye, letting that person go to start their spiritual journey.

Our most popular release is our trinity release.  We have a chapel that is designed to hold three doves.  The doves represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The chapel doors are opened and the three birds fly and circle over the funeral attendees.  Then a heart shaped basket is opened which represents the spirit of the departed, which then joins the other three birds.  The four then circle and fly home.  It is a very moving experience.


Sometimes the number of doves is reflected in other ways, such as the number of children or grandchildren.  However many doves you choose for the release the symbolism can provide some peace and comfort.  With the release music or poetry is often used these two are my favorite.

I'm Free

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free

I'm following the path God has chosen for me.

I took His hand when I heard him call;

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,

To laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way;

I've now found peace at the end of the day.

If my parting has left a void,

Then fill it with remembered joys.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss'

Oh yes, these things, I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,

Look for the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savored much;

Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.

Perhaps my time seems all to brief;

Don't lengthen your pain with undue grief.

Lift up your heart and peace to thee,

God wanted me now-- He set me free.

Author: Shannon Lee Moseley

White Doves

The white doves are taking flight.

It's my time to say good-bye.

I will not be here when you wake,

for my soul he had to take.

You might miss the smile on my face.

You might miss the words that I say.

but just sit and think a while,

for in your heart my memories lie.

I have a narrow road to travel.

The white doves will lead the way.

They will help ease my fears,

as I journey, this new place.

I am in a place of comfort.

The fear now is gone.

Put those things out of your thoughts,

in your memory I live on.

Remember not my fight for breath,

Remember not the strife

Please do not dwell upon my death

But celebrate my life.

Author Unknown

When the time comes and you are in the position of planning a funeral or memorial service consider the release of doves at the cemetery or location where the service is taking place.  If the service is in New Jersey, selected areas of eastern PA or NYC contact us for ideas and availability of our birds.  For about the price of a floral arrangement we have self release birds available, check out our site www.dovesforrelease.com