ORLANDO, Fla. – PJ Garcia-Marshall and Andrew Marshall are also known as Lola’s parents.
Lola isn’t a typical child though; she has feathers. That’s because she’s a swan.
“To say she has completely changed our life would be an understatement,” Garcia-Marshall said.
This trio came to be when Lola was a “cygnet” — a baby swan.
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Because of their volunteer experience, rehabilitating animals, and their partnerships, someone called the couple about an issue.
“She was found in the nest alone, and can you imagine getting a phone call that a baby hatched out of its egg and was sitting by itself and had no mother or siblings there? That immediately touched our heart,” Garcia-Marshall said.
The Orlando couple took Lola in to reintroduce her to the wild later, but when they brought Lola back to the lake where she was found, there was trouble.
“She sadly didn’t grow up on that lake, so she didn’t know how to navigate the areas where she could and could not go,” Marshall said.
Marshall said swans tend to be territorial.
“She ended up in an area where (another swan) had a territory in that area, and she was attacked,” Marshall said.
They tried reintroducing Lola to her siblings, but it didn’t work.
“So we said, ‘We will take her back,’” Garcia-Marshall said.
Now, they’ve turned their backyard into Lola’s Cove.
“We’ve essentially created a sanctuary for her,” Marshall said.
They put up a fence to give her access to the lake with protection from other animals.
Some still come around to say hello, although mainly for the food the Marshalls hand out.
“(We) go through about 50 pounds a week of this stuff because of all the birds on the lake,” Marshall said.
Lola even spends time in the house.
“She fell in love with being inside. She thinks she is one of the dogs or one of the cats,” Garcia-Marshall said.
It may be enticing, but the Marshalls said it is illegal to take a swan from a lake.
“No, don’t do that, please. We are involved with the right partners, and that’s one of the reasons why we were selected to take her on,” Marshall said.
Handpicked to be Lola’s parents, the Marshalls said they’re forever grateful.
“She is acclimated, and I think she decided that we’re her family as much as we decided that she’s ours,” Garcia-Marshall said.
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