It seems like every time I log onto Facebook or scroll through the news feeds at work I am seeing bad news. You don’t need me to rehash the lost lives or the political jousting or the break-ins or accidents… And I HATE delivering bad news on the air. Even a traffic accident, I will trick the guys from the CapeCod.com News Room to come into the studio and deliver the traffic problems over the air for me. So this morning, when I saw that someone was missing a pet turkey, I really wanted some good news.
I know… You are wondering why someone would even have a pet turkey. Apparently, this was a pretty cool bird. I remembered one of my favorite books from my childhood: That Quail Robert. It’s amazing how any living animal can work its way into your heart and your family. I looked at the pictures of a beautiful all white turkey nuzzled up sleeping in her owner’s arms. There was also a picture of this bird as a chick cuddled up with baby ducks. Apparently the family had raised Limpity Jo (yes, she has a name), from a hatchling. The post said that she was very social and often greeted her owner at the gate after work. Last night, Limpity Jo was not there to greet anyone at the end of the day.
Limpity Jo went missing a day ago in Barnstable Village near 6A – an area known for coyotes. This is also an area where you may not expect to see a friendly white turkey following someone across their yard. This morning, Limpity Jo was still missing. In a last ditch effort, a call out was made on social media to help locate this friendly fowl.
I saw the post show up again and again… I thought of That Quail Robert… I had to make a call out on the air… And I did. I don’t know this family. I am not really a bird person – although I am a stray animal person, so I suppose it plays on the same heart strings. There was even a picture of LJ photo bombing another turkey. I began to imagine the poor thing trying to hide in the underbrush or up in a tree for the night… Her snowy white feathers making her an easy target for predators and things that cry out in the night!
Let’s be honest, when a domestic animal goes missing in this area overnight, things don’t usually end well. There are only so many stories about dogs falling of lobster boats in the middle of the ocean and swimming to abandoned military islands where they survive for weeks until someone sees them shivering on the side of a road and reunites them with their owners! (You saw the stories about Luna right?)
And now for the good news:
Right around lunch time, a couple of Barnstable Police Officers located the wayward bird and returned her to her home!
A happy ending for a lucky turkey. There is your good news for the day.
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