Explaining WDRP Policy: Refunds

This is probably one of the more flexible rules, with no precise, specific guidelines. The "jist" of it is that dove release companies with WDRP membership will issue refunds to customers, if an "Act of God" or inclement weather has prevented the release. For some companies, this entails a full, complete refund. For others, the amount of the refund is based upon circumstancial evidence, such as how much work was already completed prior to the event, what the contract entails, and possibly exclusions, such as refunds, less reasonable administrative fees.

Usually, if a dove release professional feels pretty certain that a dove release will not be possible, due to a strong weather storm system, they will call the client or the contact to let them know they will most certainly not be able to perform the release. Occasionally, a client still requests the dove release company come to the event, nonetheless, "just in case." This is understandable -- it is the client's big day, and she has most often been dreaming of her dove release for months. Most companies will be perfectly willing to bring the birds to the event. However, this will most often mean that there will be no refund to the client if weather prevents the birds from being released.

A white dove release company's desire is to be able to perform a beautiful release for a client. We will do everything we can to make that happen, and to make it as amazing as we can for our customers. Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill our obligations to the extent of the US Postal Service: Come rain, snow, or sleet, we must protect our birds and "wet wings can't fly."

Explaining WDRP Policy: 100% Reliable & On Time

The reason for this portion of the ethics policy is probably self-explanatory.

When a funeral director places a family in contact with a dove release company, they are taking a risk. They have, essentially, put the care of the family in the hands of someone outside their funeral home for an important aspect of the funeral. The funeral homes must be able to rely completely & confidently upon the character of the dove release representative. The F.H. director needs to know, with every confidence, that the dove release coordinator will treat his/her funeral family with the highest of compassion, respect, and professionalism.

The F.H. director also needs to be confident that the dove release coordinator will show up on time, to every single release, every time. He/she is staking his/her reputation on it.

When I was newer in the dove release business, I faced the burden of proving my reliability, perhaps more than the average "dove wrangler": A few of the funeral homes told me they'd had to deal with a lady, in the past, who would sometimes just not show up for the dove release at all. Her business faded quickly because they could not risk her un-reliability as a factor in their services. So I had to build my reputation for 100% reliability through time, gaining their confidences by being someone they could unquestionably count on.

Similarly, brides, grooms, and wedding vendors must know, through the reputation a dove release company has earned, that their dove release coordinator will be perfectly reliable. The last thing a bride needs to worry about on her wedding day is whether or not a vendor will show up on time for her very important day.

If there are impending circumstances which threaten the ability of the dove release coordinator to perform the dove release (heavy rains, winds, an "Act of God," etc.) a good coordinator would never just "not show up" to a release. He/she would make every possible effort to communicate with the contact for the event.

Explaining WDRP Policy: Appropriate Handler Attire

The idea that when representing a dove business, the dove handler should wear appropriate attire might be self-explanatory. However, I'll delve into the subject, briefly.

I think many people envision someone who raises homing pigeons as being perhaps a little unclean from managing the lofts and the other physical aspects required in maintaining a clean, healthy environment while working with animals. Good care does, indeed, require a great amount of physical work and does involve "mess.

However, while this is the case when it comes to loft maintenance, pampering the birds, and very physical work, it doesn't mean this is how the dove handler should EVER show up to a release assignment.

WDRP members want to reflect their professionalism and how seriously they take making your event beautiful in every way, within their realm of responsibility. So don't ever expect a WDRP member to show up in overalls, with a stem of straw between his/her teeth (said with tongue in cheek, lol). We take our jobs seriously and want to reflect this in every way. Most male WDRP members will wear suits, and some even wear a tux to attend and perform the dove release for you. Women dress in business suits or other formal wear. Good presentation is critical. Your event is very important. Dressing appropriately, and taking pride in appearance is just another imperative piece of the professional packaging that makes up the breathtaking aura of a WDRP dove release.

Explaining WDRP Policy: Knowing Animal Husbandry

As with most species of domesticated creatures, there are people who breed their animals for quality and integrity of the line, and then there are people who simply let their animals breed for the sake of reproducing.

Certain breeds of animals were designed for specific purposes. For example, consider, if you will, the labrador retriever. And let's assume that the breeder of the labrador dogs cares greatly about maintaining quality in his dogs' bloodlines, and thus adheres to all standards set forth by professionals for that breed. If certain dogs of his begin to show signs of regular hip displasia in the pups, or perhaps other poor characteristics, such as chronic overbite, out of responsibility, he desperately needs to change his breeding program and discontinue using parents who are passing down traits in the pups which are damaging to their ultimate functionality and well-being as adults. These pups may be adorable and sweet, and many families might love to adopt them to give them good homes as pets. However, they would not be good for breeding, as they'd continue to genetically pass on traits which cause the dogs great pain in adulthood (such as hip displaysia), or difficulty with other functions because of malformities.

Similarly, that's how responsible animal husbandry works with pigeon fanciers. Responsible fanciers maintain breeding charts and pedigree records for their birds. They evaluate the health, form, and successes of their bird pairs' off-spring and adjust breeding programs accordingly.

For those who race their pigeons, results from races often reveal the best of bloodlines/homing abilities/health of his/her birds. The best birds make it home quickly, reliably, and safely. The bloodlines of those birds are the ones the fancier will want to continue pairing together, always striving to maintain quality and soundness in their pigeons. They will often pair their birds with purchases from other lofts: New "blood" proven in races, ever striving to produce the best. Comparing these athletes to feral pigeons, would be like comparing a champion race horse to a plow horse.

For the pure white homing pigeons raised for training for releases, the same applies. The best, most responsible breeders are ever-striving to improve their stock, making certain their beloved birds are kept in tip-top health, and striving to use quality bloodlines from proven families/pedigrees. It is imperative for the dove releaser to use healthy birds with lovely form. It is also imperative that these birds have the ability to return home quickly from each and every release. God has given us dominion over the animals, and it is our duty to care for them in the very best way possible.

There are a very few breeders who let their birds breed haphazardly in the lofts. Some have so many birds, they don't even bother to band them or keep track of the bloodlines. They don't concern themselves with the integrity of the physical standards of the birds, nor do they care so much whether or not the birds have strong homing instincts. They may have 500 birds in their lofts and in their minds, so long as the birds continue cranking out off-spring, they stand to continue making money off of the animals. Again, this isn't even remotely acceptable, and is deeply irresponsible.

Now, if the birds in the loft are all at a good quality level and have proven themselves, then allowing them to choose their own mates is, in my humble opinion, not harmful at all. I would still hope that good breeding records would be kept. However, if the breeder has full confidence in all the birds he/she has, there should be no problems. With careful record keeping, if any problems did arise in a young bird, they would be traceable.

The WDRP rule requiring the practice of careful animal husbandry from its members was created for purposes of perpetuating highly responsible loft management, and thus doing a great (and absolutely, unquestionably necessary) service, in protecting the birds.

Explaining WDRP Policy: No Indoor Releases

The following is an e-mail dialogue between my good colleague, Ed Kellems, of "Wings of Heaven" in Birdseye, Indiana. First is the question sent to him by a bride. Following that is his response.

BRIDE: "Hi, I'm having a wedding reception in Long Island, NY. We wanted to release a few doves into the ballroom just before they introduced us to our guests as husband and wife, we thought then the professional can call them back after our first dance or before then leave. Can that work?"

A Bride to be !

ED'S RESPONSE: "Hello, I understand what your asking and the answer is "NO", that won't work. But let me explain a little more to you about what you're asking. There are two fields of training here. You could compare it to a doctor and a lawyer. Both are trained professionals but you wouldn't want the lawyer operating on you no more than you would want the doctor to defend you in court.

Now I'll try to explain to you the difference in the two fields of dove releases. There are places that perform indoor releases. The Dixie Stampede is one of them. But they have spent months training the birds for this one feat. And those same birds are used day after day in that building. And they ONLY fly inside that building. If you try to move them to another building you would spend months retraining the birds again.

The members of our group do not practice indoor releases. We do outdoor releases only. And this, too, is a specialized field of training. The birds are trained to return home when released. These birds are highly trained and very much atheletes. They could very easily hurt themselves inside a building when released because they would be looking for a way out to get home.

Both of the above fields take months and months of training. One specializes in outdoor releases and one specializes in indoor releases. With an outdoor release, the birds will return home from anywhere, within a reasonable distance. This is what they are trained to do. The indoor birds are trained only for that one building. And it would take months for them to be changed to a different building. I hope this helps you understand why it's not feasible to try releasing birds indoors for one wedding."

MY SIDE NOTE: I've heard stories of an individual in Southern California who will release his birds in a myriad of poorly chosen situations. He places the almighty dollar far above animal ethics. He is quite the exception, as most dove release people take extensive care in protecting their birds. One such release this person did was inside the Crystal Cathedral. The birds were absolutely untrained for this venue and were released, nonetheless. The birds (& surely many guests) panicked that they couldn't get out of the building. They clung clumsily with wings flapping, to foliage, hit windows, etc. I'm not certain how they were ever retrieved. This is not the type of release our WDRP group promotes, or even tolerates -- because we care about the professionalism of the release and the safety of the animals, first and foremost. No amount of money can convince a WDRP member to risk an unethical release. Individuals like this are the primary reason the WDRP non-profit organization was started in the first place: To preserve professionalism and concern for the birds in all dove releases. An accountability group consisting of international dove release companies would promote ethics: And thus, the White Dove Release Professionals was formed.

Explaining WDRP Policy: Why Professional Standards?

The WDRP policy states that "Each member of our group has been asked to join because they have demonstrated high professional standards in the operation of their business..." Each of the policy points are extremely important, but this one is what makes or breaks the integrity of the business most. There are some dove release company lists out there that are simply that -- un-principled, un-scrutinized lists with no differentiation (nor concern) for the business practices of the companies they list.

The WDRP finds dependability and professionalism to be a requirement for its membership. Members must exhibit standards in how they treat and take care of their clients. We want our clients to be deeply touched by our service and the quality of our dove releases. We care greatly about how our customers feel about our services -- clients should expect nothing but the very best service we can properly provide.

WDRP membership is by invitation only, or by a carefully scrutinized application process, and then a period of apprenticeship, no matter how much experience that applicant has. This is in order to get to know the applicant well, work with them, converse with them, and to help them out in becoming a part of the "WDRP Family."