‘My companion and confidante’
Jodie Smalley, 42, lives in Corvallis, Oregon.
I never thought a turkey would come to mean so much to me. But in Easter 2014, when friends turned up with a fuzzy little chick they had found abandoned, I fell in love and took her in.
‘I’m calling her Easter,’ I told my husband.
But our marriage was struggling, and when we split up, Easter was my companion and confidante.
I would sit and talk to her and she would cluck as if she understood what I was going through.
No matter how bad my day was, Easter always made me smile.
My therapist vouched for her as my emotional support animal. She was even permitted to fly with me on planes. She charmed everyone she met and no one could believe that she was so well behaved.
I was heartbroken when Easter died in 2017. But whenever I see little fluffy feathers, I know she’s watching over me.