"Do you think we should be here in this room for 10 pigeons?"

When his sleek birds took wing, Yoan Vazquez’s spirits soared right along with them.

Like most everyone involved in the competitive and consuming world of Miami pigeon racing, Vasquez was devoted to his birds. His wife, a childhood sweetheart, and 6-year-old daughter came first but close behind were the 150 pigeons he kept in a meticulously tidy coop behind their home in the Coral Way neighborhood of Miami.

The 32-year-old, who had raised palomas back home in Cuba like many other South Florida racers, had recently won his first local race and had hopes of success in larger competitions. Those dreams would die late last year with a sudden savage knife thrust during an argument — with two fellow racers over the ownership of 10 prized birds.

Read more at the Miami Herald.