A woman has a pet pigeon who lives in her apartment and loves to kiss and cuddle her.<br /><br />Aleksandra Bezrukova, 25, discovered a pair of eggs which hatched baby pigeons - known as squabs - on her balcony and she fell in love.<br /><br />After they grew up and flew away, Aleksandra became determined to raise a pigeon of her own.<br /><br />After finding a pet pigeon that needed re-homing she took the bird in and named her Coco.<br /><br />Coco has been living in Aleksandra's apartment with her husband, Alexandre Pastemps, 29, a crypto trader, since October.<br /><br />Both of them adore Coco and she grows more friendly by the day - even giving Aleksandra kisses and cuddles.<br /><br />Aleksandra calls her a "little sweetheart" and reckons pigeons have a worse reputation than they deserve. <br /><br />She claims even once-skeptical family members are smitten with Coco now too.<br /><br />Aleksandra, a clothing shop owner, living in Chloet, France, said: "When those eggs first hatched on my balcony, something inside me woke up.<br /><br />"They were so cute, I spent hours each day looking at them.<br /><br />"When they grew up and flew away, I was heartbroken - so I researched online about having a pet pigeon of my own.<br /><br />"As soon as I saw Coco I loved her and our relationship grows each day.<br /><br />"Pet pigeons are so lovely - they're super smart and clever, and cute.<br /><br />"I think people who feel negatively just don't understand them."<br /><br />Aleksandra found herself captivated by pigeons after seeing two little eggs in a nest on her balcony in August 2023.<br /><br />She left them where they were and saw the parents tending to the nest for over a month - then eventually two little chicks were born.<br /><br />Over time the chicks grew and learnt to walk, then flap their wings - before Aleksandra had to say goodbye for good when they flew the nest.<br /><br />She said: "I looked at them every day, I would just open the window and sit and watch them.<br /><br />"I was heartbroken when they flew away.<br /><br />"Something inside me woke up - I started to be curious about pigeons and watched videos about pigeons as pets.<br /><br />"I decided I wanted a pet pigeon too."<br /><br />After finding a local man looking to re-home a seven-month-old pigeon, Aleksandra "fell in love" and the rest was history.<br /><br />She said: "When I saw her I loved her, and I wanted to give her the best life.<br /><br />"She was super cute, and let me take her from the guy’s hands straight away."<br /><br />When Aleksandra first brought Coco home in October 2023, she said the bird was timid - but over time became more trusting.<br /><br />The first milestone was landing on Aleksandra's head, before nipping her cheeks softly - the equivalent to a pigeon kissing affectionately.<br /><br />In December, Coco let Aleksandra cuddle her for the first time and sat on her shoulder.<br /><br />Now they share a special bond, and pigeon cuddles are a regular occurrence.<br /><br />Coco lives in their apartment, and sleeps in a cage but is free to fly around indoors all day long.
