Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happiest Turkey in the Happiest Place on Earth

Happiest Turkey in the Happiest Place on Earth



Courage the turkey was pardoned by President Obama in 2009 along with his friend Carolina. He was then flown across the country to Disneyland, Anaheim, California. Disneyland and Walt Disney World traded off getting the Presidential Pardoned Birds from 2005-2009.

You may think that taken to a Disney amusement park the turkey would not have much of a chance at living long. Maybe the poor bird would be better off at a petting zoo or some other place. You would be wrong. Usually the pardoned birds live 4-6 months at a petting zoo before dying. It is rare for a pardoned turkey to see the next Thanksgiving

The average lifespan of a domesticated Turkey is 2-3 years. Courage and Carolina were about 6 months old when they came to live at Disneyland. They joined Pecan and Yam from 2 years before. Carolina died last year. Courage is still doing well at the Circle D Ranch where the animals you see around Disneyland are cared for.


Courage, like all domesticated turkeys was overweight when he came to Disneyland. The day the Presidentially pardoned birds arrived at the park they were put on a diet. Between time spent in a large display pen in the Big Thunder Ranch area and off hours backstage at Circle D the birds were exercised. Often a Circle D Cast Member was handed the birds feeding bowl and asked to run or ride a bike around the open area of the ranch. The birds chased the Cast Member around getting the exercise they need.



About a year ago Disneyland stopped putting the Presidential Birds on display. They are kept backstage at the Circle D where they could live out their lives in peace. It was felt the birds were stressing more while on display as they got older. Only Courage remains. I miss seeing Courage and the other birds.

Happy Thanksgiving Courage!!! May you see many more Thanksgivings!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! May you have a wonderful day with family and friends!





My Christmas book, “An Angel Remembers 25 Voices of Christmas” is available!!
This is a collection of 26 short Christmas stories that together bring the amazing events of Christ’s birth alive. It is my hope that this will help encourage families to spend 10-15 minutes a day together during the busy holiday season remembering the true reason for the season.
You can find it for ALL eReader formats and PDF at:

For your Nook the link is:

It is also available at the iTunes book store and many other ebook seller sites.
The only big site not carrying my book is Amazon.
You can download a Kindle version from Smashwords.com



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