Photo by Todd Fopiano
Audio By Carbonatix
One day in early 2025, Todd Fopiano noticed a rooster had shown up at the pickleball courts at Stanley Goldman Memorial Park in Hollywood.
Nobody knew where he came from. They weren’t even really sure whether he was a rooster. But Fopiano says the regulars quickly made him one of their own, naming him Pickles and designating him the courts’ de facto mascot. They built him a roost beneath a fence-mounted awning around the courts, where he’d sleep at night after spending his days watching his human friends play. They bought him live worms (“which was costly,” Fopiano admits) and diapers (“people complained about his feces”), and made him a custom bath. One devoted regular even volunteered to take Pickles home during hurricanes and bad storms.
“Everybody got obsessed with him,” Fopiano tells New Times. “Especially me.”
But since last Sunday, the pickleballers’ beloved Pickles has gone missing. And Fopiano says they’re desperate to find him.
A missing poster shared on Craigslist — titled “MISSING: PICKLES!” and featuring a photo of the silver-laced Sebright rooster perched atop a bike rack bordering the courts — describes the bird as “affectionate” and “a key part of our pickleball community.” It offers a reward for his return.
“He was family,” Fopiano says. “So, yeah, everybody’s devastated.”
Fopiano says that on Sunday, he received a call from the regular who takes Pickles home during storms, who showed up to a Pickle-less pickleball court and asked Fopiano: “Hey, where’s Pickles?” They soon realized the bird was last seen around the courts sometime between 3 and 6 p.m. that day, says Fopiano, who notes that Pickles’ disappearance is out of character for a bird who seemingly made the park his permanent home.
“He would never leave,” Fopiano insists. “That was his home.”
Photo by Todd Fopiano
While Fopiano says he’s heard several theories about what may have happened — including one that a dog got its paws on Pickles — Fopiano says he doesn’t believe a predator is responsible. He says he spoke with a man the day before who claims to have seen a young boy grab Pickles and get away on a scooter.
In a recent post in the Facebook group “Pickleball Hollywood,” where Fopiano and other Hollywood pickleballers discuss all things pickleball (including, but not limited to, Pickles), he wrote: “I believe I’ve obtained reliable information [about] what has happened to Pickles. I’m not posting the details but there may still be hope. Please do not confront or harass the owner of the husky anymore. It has nothing to do with this dog.”
But ultimately, Fopiano isn’t sure what to believe.
“Who knows if that was a real story. I don’t know,” he says of the story regarding the child on the scooter. “Sometimes stories are stories.”
Fopiano says there’s currently a $450 — and counting — reward for anyone with information that leads to Pickles’ return. In the meantime, he and other pickleballers have been anxiously waiting for any updates, with fellow players constantly asking him for word on their feathered friend.
In the Facebook group, the tributes have been pouring in for Pickles. “It didn’t feel the same at [Stanley Goldman] today without him,” one woman wrote. “Miss him,” another added. “Pray we find [Pickles],” a third chimed in.
“There’s a void,” Fopiano says. “It’s like, oh shit, Pickles isn’t here anymore.”
Have you seen Pickles? Please let us know at editorial@miaminewtimes.com.
