Your morning adorable: Rescued turkeys' pre-Thanksgiving spa day

For longtime vegan Karen Dawn, eating turkeys on Thanksgiving isn't an option. So last year, Dawn started a new tradition, inviting live turkeys into her Pacific Palisades home to celebrate the holiday along with her human guests. She adopted two turkeys otherwise destined for slaughter, Bruce and Emily, who lived the high life in the Palisades for a few weeks before being "retired" to the Acton-based Animal Acres sanctuary for rescued farm animals.

This Thanksgiving, Dawn continued the tradition, purchasing two turkeys -- she named them Monty and Marsha -- that very nearly ended up on someone's table rather than at someone's table. "Why shouldn't vegans have 'Turkey Day'?" she wondered. That's a question that Dawn has clearly been able to answer for herself: This year, she welcomed about 20 human guests for a vegan feast, the only turkeys in sight being Monty, Marsha and a bottle of Wild Turkey for good measure.

Because Monty and Marsha were, quite understandably, filthy after their close call at a slaughterhouse, baths for both were Dawn's first order of business upon getting them home. ("As I drove home on the freeway with them crated in the car, I had every window open," she told Unleashed, "yet I still retched with every breath.") 

Fortunately for all, the birds actually remained calm during the bathing, and they seemed to relish the blow-drying they received after it was over. "I think they understood very quickly that they were somewhere safe," Dawn says. 

Monty and Marsha attended their rescuer's Thanksgiving dinner as honored guests, and they'll remain at her home until they too are sent to live at an area farm-animal sanctuary.  A "retirement ceremony" for the two at the Santa Clarita-based Gentle Barn is scheduled for Dec. 6, during which Dawn will also read from her book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals."

RELATED:
Turkeys for Thanksgiving -- as friends, not feast
Thanksgiving good deeds: Farm Sanctuary offers rescued-turkey sponsorship opportunities

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: thankingthemonkey via YouTube

Comments

[stephanie zill]

Thanks so much for a charming article!

[Soliel]

This is the proper way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Not by gorging on the body of dead bird that was tortured much of his life and had to experience the terror of slaughter. No, the proper way is to celebrate it with the huge bounty of veg foods we are so lucky to have to choose from and spare the poor birds.

The meaning of Thanksgiving is really not the eating of turkey, it's the attitude, the joy of gratitude. This has nothing to do with eating meat. In fact, eating meat is the opposite of good feelings. The best way to celebrate that is do it is without killing, having a veg Thanksgiving.

[Susana A.]

The moment when the turkey appears to recognize her/himself in the mirror? Aahh, thanks, Morning Adorable.

[Anu Garg]

What a great story on showing compassion to our fellow animals! Many thanks for highlighting Karen's Dawn's live turkey Thanksgiving.

[Gerardo Tristan]

Kudos to Karen Dawn for starting this tradition much more in tune with the real values of Thanksgiving. That's what Thanksgiving should be all about:ompassion and sharing. Thanks for bringing this amazing story!

[melanie]

thanks , Dawn, for your work. and thanks, LA Times, for highlighting this woman's work!
as a vegetarian i have difficulties with Thanksgiving meals more and more as each year passes. the focus is SO much on the turkey...not a vegetarian/vegan holiday for sure.
i can't wait for the day when we as a population are more inclined to go veg/vegan. i'm positive that a shift will happen towards more of a meatless diet as the years go on. i think people will do it more for health reasons as opposed to animal right's reasons. but, hey, i'm not gonna complain when that shift occurs no matter what the reason.

[Richard Dalmau]

I was thrilled with the Charles Gibson story on Ms. Karen Dawn's pardon of two turkeys!

In a world everyday more brutal, it's nice to see a compassionate and humane story that is an example to follow!

[j0nah]

Thank you Lindsay Barnett and LA Times for this story, and for all who commented too. Now i don't feel so alone on Thanksgiving ~ refusing to eat turkey. I hope Karen Dawn will be a new example to all of us on how to live and eat humanely. What an incredible world this could be if everyone treated all animals with compassion.

[Bobbee Murr]

I'm guessing that most of us have not had the chance to meet turkeys, and this close-up portrait is the next best thing! Thanks for showing them to us. There's plenty to eat in the plant kingdom.