Emotional support turkey delivers joy for Washington woman

Spokane Valley, Wash. (KHQ) — Most of the time when you hear the words “emotional support animal,” you think of a dog, but one family in Spokane Valley is bound and determined to prove that wrong.

Mary K. Pearce is always followed around by her pets, but one of them walks very differently from her dogs. Sammi is Mary’s emotional support turkey.

“A turkey can be domesticated just as well as a dog or a cat,” she says.

Mary got Sammi as a baby and nurtured her until now. And Sammi has helped. That’s because Mary has Lupus. She’s in pain a lot and has depression.

“She keeps me going,” Mary says. “She gets me up every morning at 5 in the morning. Having a turkey around just keeps things interesting in life. You know?”