A Flying Turkey: Passenger Brings Bird As Emotional Support

People find friendships and support in the most unusual places and with the most unusual beings. One passenger’s a turkey, so he decided to take it along with him on a plane.

Some American airlines allow their customers to travel with “emotional support animals,” in order to relax easier and avoiding panicking in severe cases of anxiety and fear of flight.

As long as the animals are trained to behave properly in a public environment, they are welcome to come onboard the plane. One passenger took full advantage of the “therapy pet” clause, and he brought a full grown turkey onto the plane.

Moesha Mitchel, a Twitter user, posted pictures of the turkey on the popular social platform. The picture went viral, and soon, the whole world was giggling at the fact that the anonymous turkey was someone’s therapy pet.

However, the owner of the poultry bird was lucky he and his travelling companion didn’t get booted off the plane, as the airline (Delta, reportedly) doesn’t allow “hedgehogs, ferrets, reptiles… and non-household birds, including farm poultry” onboard due to safety and/or public concerns.

An emotional support animal is a pet that has been “prescribed by a person’s licensed therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.” It’s designed to bring comfort and minimize the negative symptoms of the person’s emotional/psychological disability, as part of the treatment program for the person, according to the National Service Animal Registry.