my dad ... let 's just say he 's not the most loving kind of guy . they ran back and forth , sometimes leaping from one to another , forcing away any pigeon that tried to land . `` we wo n't be there for days . they set the cups down in front of us . he 'd been surprised by how lonely she was , how abandoned she was by even the people who were supposed to love her . `` that 's not a lot of traveling time each day . '' 