Pigeon Feathers in the Washer

So got a funny tale...I found a great deal on Craigslist. Thankfully I have washer and dryer hookups in my new building. So I found a washer and dryer for only $100. Craigslist never ceases to amaze me. Some of the content is completely nuts and so honest about how the general public acts and thinks. But you can also find the greatest deals. Usually whatever you're looking for is there. Including the apartment I found!
So my father and I went to pick up the appliances locally, no problems. We cart it through the scary I know there's dead bodies buried under here dirt floor in the basement. (Gotta love New England Houses!)We could not hook up the dryer, because of course it has the wrong giant 3-pronged plug. We hook up the washer, I clean it up, throw some cleaning product in, and start a wash. It runs! No problems, and I have to say I was quite proud of my purchase. While we're waiting for the wash to run through, my dad lifts to cover of the washer. All around the tub of the washer, there are feathers! It looked like a bird got trapped in there and panicked. A battle-field of feathers. My dad proceeds to say, it looks like pigeon feathers! I felt sick to my stomach. I looked below for a dead pigeon body. I smelled for rotting bird. Nothing. The wash runs through, and my dad says he will bring his Shop-Vac over and get rid of the feathers so they don't smell.
He leaves, and about 20 minutes later the phone rings. He is laughing, and says he told my mom about the pigeon. My mother straightens him out quickly. "I don't think so. Someone tried to wash a goose-down pillow." I have to say my stomach hurt from laughing over our stupidity. I mean, how could a bird get inside a washer? I don't know what we were thinking...