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A "gangland figure" who hated crows and associated them with death ended up dedicating his life to one spending £50-a-week so it could eat like a "f*****g king."
TikTok user, Salford Sheriff even taught his wingman, 'Russell' to drink water from a bottle and not to "take a dump" on his work wagon so he didn't get into any trouble with the boss.
The unlikely friendship began when scaffolder and labourer, Sheriff found the injured bird in the middle of the road.
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And while he always considered crows to be "evil" and associated them with death and the horror film, The Omen, he couldn't help but take him under his wing.
Since then – despite Russell leading the Sheriff into a field where he almost got trampled by bulls, and forcing him to pull over on the M6 due to his demanding squalking, their bond continued to grow.
Sheriff, a known gangland figure who is used to dicing with death, proved he has a soft side, admitting he spent around £50-a-week feeding his feathered friend a luxury diet of steak, raw fish, nuts, mealworms, raisins, rice pudding and yogurt for around eight weeks before he flew the nest.
The Sheriff has posted a series of hilarious videos of their escapades on TikTok which have racked up over 36,000 views.
His latest clip shows him explaining how he taught Russell to drink water from a bottle.
Filming him perched on the end of his ladder on his van, he adds: "He chills there coz that's where he has a dump and it goes on the floor and not on my wagon otherwise my boss would go mental.
"He enjoys coming to work, he just chills out all day there, basically that's Russell's day, chilling out and getting fed.
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"But he lets you know when he's hungry or wants a drink."
The Sheriff, who lives in a caravan, said he took Russell all over the country with him.
He told the Daily Star: "It's a mad story.
"I had to hand feed him every two hours daily from 5am to 10pm, it was hard work and he was very demanding but it was well worth it, and I'd do it again, 100%.
"I must've spent about £50 a week on food, he ate better than me to be honest, he ate like a f*****g king.
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"I even taught him how to fly by letting him chase me to get his muscles up to scratch.
"He got stuck a couple of times in hedges, which I had to dig him out of, then he once led me into a field where I nearly got stampeded by bulls.
"I took him everywhere with me, Liverpool, Manchester, Southport, North Wales, Glossop – and he's been on holiday in four different caravans.
"At work, he'd sit on the wagon and people would even recognise him because they'd seen him on TikTok.
"He was always free to fly off, I wanted to keep him as wild as I could, which I did and now he's still wild where he belongs.
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The Sheriff added: "I hated crows but I love them now, they seem to come into my life before I've lost someone – as I remember having an encounter with one before my Nanna died, then Russell came along before my mum and dad passed away.
"They are very clever birds, Russell got to know his own name, when I called him, he'd come back.
"I do miss him. The love they give you…I was his mum, dad and brother all in one.
"He's f****d off now though, he's in Rhyl somewhere."
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