Leader of the Pack Meet Cranberry the turkey, saved from the Christmas dinner table, who now thinks shes a dog. She loves going for walks, lives in a kennel and even barks. Jerry and Dawn Watkins adopted the bird after she was found wandering around a car park, and the couple were left bemused when the bird took an instant liking to their pet Labradors, Teal and Widgeon — and then started showing dog-like traits. Mr Watkins, 55, the National Director for Equine Welfare at HorseWorld in Bristol, said: We got a call from a member of the public after they had seen her on the loose. People in the local area often report animals theyve found to the centre. They know we have a lot of different species — not just horses and donkeys. Dawn and I live on site and often take in waifs and strays. Shes a very friendly and affectionate bird. We were very careful about introducing her to the dogs, but Cranberry seemed unconcerned. The dogs were intrigued and just wanted to sniff her. Bizarrely, Labradors are bred to hunt game birds but in fact, the eight-year-old bird is the leader of the pack among her canine friends. Mr Watkins said: Shes the head honcho. She will pinch the dogs feed but they would never dream of trying to get it back from her. Shes now got her own dog bowl for her corn and occasional dog biscuits to stop her stealing food from the dogs. Every morning, we let them out and the dogs follow her around. Once animals get to know each other, they understand their body language and behaviour so it doesnt really surprise me. The only thing she wont do is fetch. She picks things up but just eats them. Cranberry has her own kennel right next door to the dogs day kennel but can often be found relaxing in the house. Mr Watkins said: She loves being stroked. If you stroke her, she will go into a relaxed state. She will hunker down. Its quite charming. Like most dogs, she has her favourite. Its Dawn. She feeds her more than I do. Cranberry loves wandering around with the dogs and has even proved a great guard dog. Mrs Watkins, 34, an equine lecturer at Norton Radstock College, said: If someone is coming up the garden path, shes really useful because shes got her own alert call. She likes to be right in your space and will walk to heel — just like a dog. Shes a big bird and people can get quite disconcerted but its her being friendly and inquisitive. There are not many turkeys who like to be stroked and petted. They usually like to be left alone but Cranberry wants to be close to you. Shes part of the family now.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 05:19:30 +0000
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