Meet The Pro >> Several years ago, Gregory West was asked to release one of his white doves at the graveside service of a friend. “It was a very spiritual moment,” he says. When he began to get more requests for funerals—and weddings—West started Winged Angels.

Skill Set >> Regardless of where West releases his doves, they almost always return to his home in Highland Heights. “I have volumes of books on how birds find their way back,” he says. The theories include an ability to relate to the earth’s magnetic hot spots, a directional ability driven by light, and on and on. “Nothing is 100 percent conclusive,” West says. “It’s bred into them, although a lot has to do with feeding and conditioning.”

Above and Beyond >> West puts a lot of thought into funerals, “especially if the family calls me directly,” he says. In addition to the release, West will provide original poetry and make song and scripture recommendations. “I want to give them something memorable.”

Personal Best >> So far, West has never had his birds go on strike. “I’ve seen that happen, where they were supposed to fly and refused,” he says, chuckling. Then there was the bride who, after she and the groom opened the cages and the birds flew away, kept scanning the sky for their return. “I had to explain they weren’t coming back, they were headed back to Highland Heights.”

Originally published in the June 2008 issue.

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