Talking Turkey with Ellie Laks - The Gentle Barn
When was the last time you had a serious conversation with a Turkey? For Ellie Laks, co-creator of the Gentle Barn, this is a regular occurrence. At her rescue barn, the female turkeys love to cuddle with kids and adults. Looking the person in the eye, they spread their wings, exposing their hearts, and meet people at such a pure and profound level that it often brings tears to their eyes – the human’s eyes! Ellie has been an animal communicator since childhood, and she has had such powerful conversations with her rescue turkeys that it will make your jaw drop and your heart open. These are not just “dumb animals” or meals for holidays. These turkeys have expressed very specific desires and have shown just how truly in service they are to the human race. Ellie Laks is the author of My Gentle Barn and Cow Hug Therapy.
Listen to Episode #55 Now:
BIO:
Ellie Laks is The Founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation, a national organization that rescues and rehabilitates unwanted animals, and heals people with the same stories of abuse and neglect. She is an animal communicator, powerful speaker, celebrated animal welfare advocate, humane educator, and the author of “My Gentle Barn: Creating a sanctuary where animals heal, and children learn to hope.”
Ellie Founded The Gentle Barn in 1999. She invented her own “Gentle Healing method” that allows old, sick, injured and terrified animals to fully recover using a mixture of Western medicine, holistic healing modalities, holding therapy, and lots of love. Ellie is the creator of Cow Hug Therapy and has hosted hundreds of thousands of people who have come to The Gentle Barn seeking hope.
Ellie has appeared on some of the most influential media outlets including The Ellen Show, People Magazine, Life Magazine, Animal Planet, The Huffington Post, Turning point, Women’s World, The NY Times, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and many more.
Ellie is a TEDx speaker, and keynote speaker who motivates her audiences towards higher awareness, profound compassion, realizing dreams, and an enhanced sense of purpose.
To date Ellie has saved thousands of animals and hosted over 500,000 guests. The Gentle Barn is currently home to approximately 200 animals. The Gentle Barn has three locations in Los Angeles CA, Nashville, TN, and St Louis, MO. It is her goal to be the voice for animals, share their stories, and open the hearts of humanity towards all living beings, “Teaching people kindness and compassion to animals, each other and our planet.”
Transcript:
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Announcer: Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Announcer: >Welcome to The Human-Animal Connection show, where we believe we can communicate with all animals.
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Announcer: Join us as we explore the 33 principles and healing methods of The Human-Animal Connection.
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Announcer: As animal lovers, we know that you share our commitment to making the world a kinder place for all creatures.
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Announcer: Together, let's embrace the transformative healing power of The Human-Animal Connection.
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Genie Joseph: Hi, everyone.
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Genie Joseph: Welcome to The Human-Animal Connection podcast.
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Genie Joseph: I have a very delightful guest.
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Genie Joseph: I have Ellie Laks, and she is the co-founder and creator of The Gentle Barn.
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Genie Joseph: She has two books, My Gentle Barn and Cow Hug Therapy.
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Genie Joseph: And maybe you've heard the last episode we did all about hugging cows and getting so much love from cows and wisdom from cows.
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Genie Joseph: And last time she made me cry, just hearing some of the stories was so sweet.
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Genie Joseph: Happy tears.
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Genie Joseph: But so today, I just couldn't resist.
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Genie Joseph: And I wanted to talk to her about turkeys.
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Genie Joseph: So we're going to talk turkeys today.
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Genie Joseph: We're going to talk about cuddling with turkeys.
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Genie Joseph: We're going to talk about what she's learned from turkeys.
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Genie Joseph: We're going to talk about communicating with turkeys.
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Genie Joseph: So Ellie Laks, thank you so much for coming back to The Human-Animal Connection podcast.
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Ellie Laks: Oh, thank you so much for having me back.
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Ellie Laks: These conversations are so delightful and I'm so excited to be talking to you again.
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Genie Joseph: Great.
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Genie Joseph: Well, just in case the folks didn't hear the first episode, you want to just give a quick tour of The Gentle Barn, whatever you'd like us to know about that, and then we'll start talking turkeys.
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Ellie Laks: Sure.
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Ellie Laks: So The Gentle Barn is a 25-year-old national organization located in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and St.
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Ellie Laks: Louis, Missouri.
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Ellie Laks: We take in animals that have nowhere else to go, animals that are too old, too sick, too injured or too scared to be adoptable and who are otherwise euthanized.
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Ellie Laks: We bring them in and rehabilitate them with an extensive program, including obviously vet care, but we also use acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic, deep tissue massage therapy, energy healing, animal communication, nutritional supplements like sun chlorella, and of course, lots and lots of love.
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Ellie Laks: If we can rehabilitate the animal in a timely manner and find a home and family of their own, we do.
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Ellie Laks: But if they need ongoing care for the rest of their lives, then we give them sanctuary.
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Ellie Laks: And when they're ready, we partner with them to heal people with the same stories of trauma and connect people to the love and magic of animals.
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Ellie Laks: The Gentle Barn is open to the public on Sundays, at all three states.
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Ellie Laks: And during the week, we host school field trips, private tours, gentle birthday parties, cow hug therapy sessions, equine therapy sessions, and barnyard therapy sessions, where hurting humans can come in and find themselves in the barnyard.
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Ellie Laks: We also have a literacy program, and we're just here to serve the community of animals and humans alike.
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Genie Joseph: That's just wonderful.
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Genie Joseph: Well, it's such an important lesson to realize that animals can experience trauma just like humans.
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Genie Joseph: And even better than humans, I think they have the ability to heal, given the right set of circumstances and the right protocols.
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Genie Joseph: And I think that's inspiring for humans, that if animals can let go of their pain, their history, their trauma and experience forgiveness and choose to love again, that that is such a great model for us.
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Ellie Laks: Yes, I completely agree.
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Ellie Laks: And that's part of the circle of healing at The Gentle Barn.
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Ellie Laks: For example, during the pandemic, there were people that were really going through harsh circumstances, people that were in the hospital completely alone, people that were going through surgeries and illnesses or just change in their lives.
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Ellie Laks: And while that was happening, they were following The Gentle Barn on social media and seeing our animals heal from horrific circumstances and trauma.
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Ellie Laks: And in watching their resilience, they decided, well, if that animal can do it, I can too.
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Ellie Laks: And so watching the animals heal, help them heal, and they promised that once they were in remission or healed or recovered, they were going to come and visit The Gentle Barn and thank the animal that saved them.
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Ellie Laks: And many, many people did once we reopened after the pandemic, it was beautiful.
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Genie Joseph: Oh, that is so lovely.
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Genie Joseph: That is such a lovely story.
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Genie Joseph: Well, I actually have to tell you about a story, a client that I've been working with.
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Genie Joseph: And she adopted a dog, knowing that this was a dog with some serious issues, lots of fear, probably a puppy mill dog.
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Genie Joseph: She doesn't know the whole story, but it seems like from the behavior, this dog spends about 90% of her time in her dog bed.
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Genie Joseph: She's very sweet.
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Genie Joseph: She has a wonderful relationship with her owner.
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Genie Joseph: Her owner is learning to communicate through working with her.
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Genie Joseph: She is amazing on a spiritual level.
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Genie Joseph: But on a physical level, anybody looking at this dog and all of her friends will say, oh, you should do this and you should do that.
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Genie Joseph: And all kinds of things that aren't really respectful from her point of view, the dog's point of view or the human's point of view.
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Genie Joseph: But people have a lot of opinions when you say that a dog spends 90% of their time in their bed.
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Genie Joseph: Now, she will go out in the yard as we've been working with her.
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Genie Joseph: Now, she'll go out in the yard for potty most of the time.
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Genie Joseph: And she will play for five or 10 minutes at a time with treats.
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Genie Joseph: So tremendous progress.
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Genie Joseph: It doesn't appear to be a physical injury, of course.
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Genie Joseph: She hasn't been able to take her to a vet.
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Genie Joseph: She's had vet visits.
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Genie Joseph: But what I wanted to tell you, because I know you work with cows and have this telepathic communication.
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Genie Joseph: So I was working with her, the dog and the person.
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Genie Joseph: And I said, well, instead of assuming that there's something wrong with the dog, that the dog should be a different kind of dog, let's ask Sophie the dog what she's up to, how she's feeling, what she wants.
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Genie Joseph: And in other communications with her, she's told me things like she's very busy.
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Genie Joseph: And so we've been exploring this.
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Genie Joseph: As time goes on, she's been more clear about what she is experiencing.
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Genie Joseph: And so she told us about, she took us, actually she took us on a journey, instead of us taking her on a journey, she took us on a journey to meet a group of cows.
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Genie Joseph: And these group of cows were so loving.
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Genie Joseph: They surrounded her and she was just in the center of cow love.
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Genie Joseph: And we telepathically were in the center of cow love.
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Genie Joseph: And she was just having this beautiful experience with the cows.
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Genie Joseph: And it was such a great lesson for me and for her human to not assume that we understand what a behavior means, you know, like laying in bed and doing nothing.
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Genie Joseph: She's not doing nothing.
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Genie Joseph: She's got an incredibly busy inner life and she visits with bison, with cows, some different animals that we've seen.
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Genie Joseph: But the cow thing was very profound for us because as humans, we both got the experience.
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Genie Joseph: She gave us such a vivid experience that we could feel ourselves in the presence of cow love.
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Genie Joseph: We were in the circle with her telepathically, not physically, but we got the same benefit.
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Ellie Laks: That's so beautiful.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah.
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Genie Joseph: And it's just such an amazing thing to say that, you know, we never know what another human being, or another being is experiencing until we ask.
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Genie Joseph: You know, sometimes they can't tell us, but in this case, she's become more adept at telling us some of these experiences that she has.
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Genie Joseph: And the cows, we've gone back now twice to visit the cows.
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Genie Joseph: I don't know if they're your cows or not.
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Genie Joseph: I don't know whose cows they are, but they are lovingly holding her.
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Genie Joseph: And oh, the last time they licked her belly.
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Genie Joseph: That's what happened in the last visit.
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Genie Joseph: They came around and just licked very nicely.
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Genie Joseph: And she was having some tummy troubles and it helped.
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Genie Joseph: She felt better.
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Genie Joseph: So it's just phenomenal, the potential of healing cross species.
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Genie Joseph: You know, it's like, there's so much that's possible.
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Genie Joseph: So anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that story.
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Announcer: Oh, that is so beautiful.
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Ellie Laks: Yeah, it really is so beautiful.
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Ellie Laks: And I have many animal communication clients, the animals that is who they're maybe nearing the end of their life.
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Ellie Laks: They're older, they sleep a lot.
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Ellie Laks: The person's like, all they do is sit there and sleep.
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Ellie Laks: I'm worried.
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Ellie Laks: Are they in pain?
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Ellie Laks: Are they suffering?
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Ellie Laks: And I talk to the animal and the animal says, oh my God, not at all.
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Ellie Laks: I'm taking these delicious naps where I get to travel to other places.
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Ellie Laks: And I'm visiting the other side and I'm preparing myself.
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Ellie Laks: And it's very important work.
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Ellie Laks: And they, they say, please don't euthanize me.
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Ellie Laks: I need this time to do this work and this travel.
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Ellie Laks: It's very important.
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Announcer: Yeah.
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Ellie Laks: Suggesting that the dog, you're speaking.
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Genie Joseph: No, that's okay.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah.
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Announcer: But they do.
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Ellie Laks: They travel and they're very, very busy.
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Ellie Laks: And they are definitely not limited to the confines of their bodies at all.
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Genie Joseph: Absolutely not at all.
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Genie Joseph: And she is so happy and so peaceful as a character.
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Genie Joseph: You know, like when we connect with her, it's healing for us to just step out of our concepts of what she should do.
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Genie Joseph: And we do a little bit of training just because I'm a dog grainer.
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Genie Joseph: We do some harness work, but it's just sort of like, okay, let's do the good stuff now.
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Genie Joseph: Let's, let's go visit the cows.
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Genie Joseph: The cow circles, love.
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Genie Joseph: It's really fun.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah.
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Ellie Laks: It's really easy.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah.
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Genie Joseph: So tell us about turkeys.
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Genie Joseph: So a lot of people think of turkey as something they eat on Thanksgiving, but you have a different perspective.
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Genie Joseph: So tell us about, well, let's start with the turkeys that you cuddle with.
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Genie Joseph: And then I want to hear all about what the turkeys have taught you.
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Ellie Laks: So I've had a very rich and very amazing journey with turkeys.
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Ellie Laks: When I started The Gentle Barn, I dreamt about it since I was seven years old.
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Ellie Laks: And so I knew when I finally founded The Gentle Barn 25 years ago that, of course, every single creature that came into The Gentle Barn, no matter how big or small, I was going to love them.
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Ellie Laks: But I had no experience with most of these animals that I was rescuing.
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Ellie Laks: So my very first turkey, his name was Tommy.
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Ellie Laks: And these people was right after Thanksgiving.
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Ellie Laks: These people knocked on my door and they said, we raised him to eat for Thanksgiving.
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Ellie Laks: But when it came time to do the deed, we couldn't go through with it.
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Ellie Laks: So could you take him?
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Ellie Laks: And I was like, shh.
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Ellie Laks: And it was very interesting.
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Ellie Laks: I had never had a turkey before.
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Ellie Laks: I had no point of reference.
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Ellie Laks: And they told me two things.
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Ellie Laks: They said, there are two things that you need to know.
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Ellie Laks: Number one, he is as dumb as a bag of rocks.
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Ellie Laks: So don't expect him to understand anything.
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Ellie Laks: And I thought that sounded like improbable, but you know, what do I know?
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Ellie Laks: I've never met a turkey before.
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Ellie Laks: And the second thing they said is he's vicious.
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Ellie Laks: So when I'm in the barnyard, I need to carry a rake with me in case he attacks me.
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Ellie Laks: So I could defend myself.
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Ellie Laks: And so I was looking at them as the expert because they had him for a while and I've never had a turkey.
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Ellie Laks: But I thanked them and they left.
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Ellie Laks: And so two things happened.
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Ellie Laks: So first of all, that very first night at dusk, I walked behind him and kind of ushered him into his bedroom so he would have access to his food, his water and his hay bed.
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Ellie Laks: That's where he would sleep for the night.
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Ellie Laks: And the next morning I let him out.
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Ellie Laks: The next night, I was looking all over.
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Ellie Laks: They told me he was really dumb.
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Ellie Laks: So of course, he's not going to remember where he's sleeping, right?
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Ellie Laks: So I'm looking all over the barnyard for him and I can't find him anywhere.
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Ellie Laks: And I started thinking, oh my God, did he fly away?
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Ellie Laks: I'm looking over the fences to my neighbors.
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Announcer: Finally, I saw him.
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Ellie Laks: He is standing in front of his bedroom door, waiting for the dumb human to open it so he can go to bed.
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Ellie Laks: And I said, oh my God, he's not dumb at all.
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Ellie Laks: That was lesson number one.
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Ellie Laks: For two weeks, I carried a rake around where ever I went.
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Ellie Laks: He sat watching me.
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Ellie Laks: He never made a move, he never made a gesture, he was never aggressive or inappropriate, but he was watching like what's with the lady in the rake.
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Ellie Laks: And after two weeks, I said, look, he might have been aggressive with these people because maybe he knew their intention, but he is not aggressive to me and I'm putting the rake down.
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Ellie Laks: And Tommy was always and only a gentleman.
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Ellie Laks: When he fancied somebody, he loved little girls.
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Ellie Laks: And so he would rest his head against their tummies and he would close his eyes and they would hug him.
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Ellie Laks: I brought him to schools and we would have a line of 50 kids and he would stand there all puffed up and gorgeous and pose for every single picture and let every single child pet him.
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Ellie Laks: And he would not move until the last child had taken their turn.
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Ellie Laks: And then he was like, Oh, that was wonderful.
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Ellie Laks: Let's go back to the car.
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Genie Joseph: Yeah.
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Ellie Laks: He was extraordinary.
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Ellie Laks: He really showed me who turkeys are.
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Genie Joseph: Wow.
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Ellie Laks: My second turkey was about a year later.
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Ellie Laks: We rescued a female turkey.
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Ellie Laks: Her name was Spring.
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Announcer: And she was wonderful because she loved to talk.
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Ellie Laks: And so in the morning when I was cleaning the barnyard and filling up the water buckets and grooming the horses and restocking the hay, she would follow me.
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Ellie Laks: And we would have these wonderful morning conversations where I would ask her, how is she doing?
00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:51.960
Ellie Laks: And she would chirp, chirp, chirp.
00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.940
Ellie Laks: And I would tell her how I was doing and she would listen.
00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:56.940
Ellie Laks: And it was wonderful camaraderie.
00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:01.560
Ellie Laks: But one day, she started following me for a lot longer than she normally did.
00:13:01.560 --> 00:13:06.000
Ellie Laks: She would come and we had these wonderful conversations, and then she would go about her business and I would go about mine.
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.880
Ellie Laks: But this one day it was 20 minutes in, which was longer than she usually hung out with me.
00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:15.820
Ellie Laks: And I started to be concerned like, is something wrong, is she trying to tell me something?
00:13:15.820 --> 00:13:22.360
Ellie Laks: I put down my rake in the feed bucket and I sat down on the ground and I looked her in the eye and I said, Spring, what's going on?
00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:23.960
Announcer: Do you need something?
00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:28.160
Announcer: And she climbed up into my lap and fell asleep.
00:13:28.160 --> 00:13:31.780
Ellie Laks: And we've been cuddling girl turkeys ever since.
00:13:31.780 --> 00:13:37.920
Ellie Laks: So what my original turkeys taught me was that the males love to show off and be called handsome.
00:13:37.920 --> 00:13:39.420
Ellie Laks: And they love all of that attention.
00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:43.900
Ellie Laks: But the girl turkeys like to talk and they love to cuddle.
00:13:45.540 --> 00:13:48.040
Ellie Laks: And so we've been cuddling girl turkeys ever since.
00:13:48.040 --> 00:13:54.140
Ellie Laks: And those two turkeys really showed me who turkeys really are.
00:13:54.140 --> 00:13:57.540
Ellie Laks: And back then, I mean, it's a little bit less now, still prevalent.
00:13:57.540 --> 00:14:03.160
Ellie Laks: But 25 years ago, you know, when people talked about turkeys, there were all these horrible stereotypes.
00:14:03.160 --> 00:14:07.180
Ellie Laks: They're dumb, they drown in the rain, they're stupid, blah, blah, blah.
00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:11.480
Ellie Laks: And those original turkeys showed me that couldn't be furthest from the truth.
00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:15.880
Ellie Laks: They're highly intelligent beings, they're highly social beings.
00:14:15.880 --> 00:14:18.100
Ellie Laks: In the wild, they live in big, huge families.
00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:19.540
Ellie Laks: They're a patriarchal society.
00:14:19.540 --> 00:14:23.000
Ellie Laks: So the male is the leader and he's there to protect everybody.
00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.740
Ellie Laks: And then he lives with all the females and all the babies.
00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:35.520
Ellie Laks: And when the male babies hit sexual maturity, they have to go and form these bachelor gangs until they find mates one by one and they get married and they start their own families.
00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:38.400
Genie Joseph: Are they monogamous or not monogamous?
00:14:38.400 --> 00:14:39.000
Ellie Laks: No.
00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.720
Ellie Laks: So it's one patriarch to a whole bunch of females.
00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.220
Genie Joseph: I see.
00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:52.040
Ellie Laks: But he's very protective and he would sacrifice his life any given day of the week in order to save one of his family members.
00:14:52.040 --> 00:14:52.920
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:14:52.920 --> 00:14:53.900
Ellie Laks: Highly intelligent.
00:14:53.900 --> 00:14:55.660
Ellie Laks: They have about 3,000 words.
00:14:55.660 --> 00:14:58.560
Ellie Laks: They have a very highly developed language.
00:14:58.560 --> 00:15:03.480
Ellie Laks: They're extremely intelligent, very affectionate with one another.
00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:09.980
Ellie Laks: They're extraordinary animals and it's been an absolute honor to have them in my barnyard for the last 25 years.
00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:15.960
Genie Joseph: And so none of the males ever want to cuddle or do some males want to cuddle a little with humans?
00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:18.080
Ellie Laks: Well, I'll tell you something funny.
00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:27.200
Ellie Laks: Over the last 25 years, all our males have liked to flirt with the female volunteers and staff, but attacked the males.
00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:34.760
Ellie Laks: And our last male turkey that we brought in, his name is Romeo, he attacked the female staff and volunteers and flirts with the male.
00:15:37.760 --> 00:15:43.320
Ellie Laks: He prefers males, so men can cuddle with him, but women cannot.
00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:45.560
Genie Joseph: Ah, very interesting.
00:15:45.560 --> 00:15:46.580
Genie Joseph: Very interesting.
00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:47.740
Genie Joseph: Fascinating.
00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:49.700
Genie Joseph: That's wonderful.
00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.700
Genie Joseph: So we are going to take a short little break when we come back.
00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:58.380
Genie Joseph: I'd like to hear about some communications that you've had with turkeys and what you've learned from them.
00:15:58.380 --> 00:15:59.860
Genie Joseph: We're speaking with Ellie Laks.
00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:02.280
Genie Joseph: This is Jeannie Joseph from The Human-Animal Connection.
00:16:02.640 --> 00:16:04.540
Genie Joseph: We'll be back in just a moment.
00:16:27.446 --> 00:16:30.946
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Announcer: Hey friends, if you like what you're hearing and want to learn more, check out Dr.
00:17:30.786 --> 00:17:38.246
Announcer: Joseph's book, The Human-Animal Connection, Deepening Relationships with Animals and Ourselves.
00:17:38.246 --> 00:17:45.546
Announcer: Or visit the website, thehumananimalconnection.org to book an online consultation.
00:17:45.546 --> 00:17:47.906
Announcer: Thank you for loving animals.
00:17:47.906 --> 00:17:49.606
Announcer: Now back to the show.
00:17:51.066 --> 00:17:53.566
Announcer: Let's talk pets on petliferadio.com.
00:18:00.210 --> 00:18:02.110
Genie Joseph: So welcome back to The Human-Animal Connection.
00:18:02.110 --> 00:18:06.190
Genie Joseph: So Ellie, I'm dying to hear what you've learned from talking to turkeys.
00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:07.830
Announcer: I have learned so much.
00:18:07.830 --> 00:18:11.250
Ellie Laks: I have learned that they are wise beyond our comprehension.
00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:15.490
Ellie Laks: And I've also learned that they have a really funny sense of humor.
00:18:15.490 --> 00:18:20.510
Ellie Laks: So many years ago, we had a turkey named Portia.
00:18:20.510 --> 00:18:22.110
Ellie Laks: We had two turkeys that came in together.
00:18:22.110 --> 00:18:25.950
Ellie Laks: One was named Ellen Degeneres, and the other was named Portia.
00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:29.370
Ellie Laks: Turkeys you should know when they're domestic turkeys, not wild.
00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:30.690
Ellie Laks: So there's two different kinds of turkeys.
00:18:30.690 --> 00:18:34.230
Ellie Laks: One is the wild kind of turkey, the way nature intended them to be.
00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:42.190
Ellie Laks: They're very small, they fly really high, they roost on the top of trees, they can mate, they live a long time, anywhere from 10 to 20 years.
00:18:42.190 --> 00:18:44.190
Ellie Laks: And they're the original design.
00:18:44.190 --> 00:18:55.430
Ellie Laks: But the mate industry has taken the DNA of the wild turkey and created a manmade domesticated turkey that is designed to get very big, very fast, so they can go to slaughter at only 12 weeks old.
00:18:56.230 --> 00:19:05.610
Ellie Laks: And that's who people are eating on Thanksgiving and when they're eating turkey, they're eating these babies that were genetically modified to reach 25 pounds at only 12 weeks old.
00:19:05.610 --> 00:19:06.410
Ellie Laks: Wow.
00:19:06.410 --> 00:19:22.290
Ellie Laks: So when we rescue domesticated turkeys from Thanksgiving and from slaughter, by the time they're four, because of the genetic engineering and they're so abnormally massive and huge, usually they can't walk, they don't live a day past four.
00:19:22.290 --> 00:19:27.910
Ellie Laks: They either have heart attacks because their hearts just can't sustain that kind of mass or they can no longer walk.
00:19:27.910 --> 00:19:34.310
Ellie Laks: So when a turkey is in that situation where they can't walk, I'll talk to them and I'll ask how they're feeling.
00:19:34.310 --> 00:19:40.090
Ellie Laks: I'll ask them to show me their body and my body so I can see if they're in any pain and I'll ask for what they want.
00:19:40.130 --> 00:19:50.530
Ellie Laks: Usually turkeys in that circumstance will say, I've had a wonderful life, it's been a wonderful time, but now that I'm immobile, please help me out of my body so that I can transition.
00:19:51.950 --> 00:20:01.050
Ellie Laks: But Portia, so she was three-ish years old, she could no longer walk and I asked her what she wanted.
00:20:01.170 --> 00:20:16.790
Ellie Laks: Much to my surprise, she said she did not want to go and she asked me to build her a throne so she could sit on her throne and she said that she wanted people from around the world to come and meet her and pay homage to her like she's a queen and to present her with gifts.
00:20:17.970 --> 00:20:19.310
Ellie Laks: I thought, wow, that's amazing.
00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:24.250
Ellie Laks: So I had a very, very beautiful ornate wood desk in my house.
00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:27.990
Ellie Laks: Very, very beautiful, very carved and very beautiful.
00:20:27.990 --> 00:20:29.890
Ellie Laks: And I thought, wow, this would make a perfect throne.
00:20:29.890 --> 00:20:39.810
Ellie Laks: All I have to do is kind of put wood around the top to make kind of a basket to hold her and it will be a beautiful throne.
00:20:39.810 --> 00:20:43.870
Ellie Laks: So I put the wood around the top and filled it with straw and put her in it.
00:20:43.870 --> 00:20:45.910
Ellie Laks: And I said, how do you like your throne?
00:20:45.910 --> 00:20:51.250
Ellie Laks: And she said, well, it's very beautiful, but I want my throne to be bejeweled and bedazzled.
00:20:51.250 --> 00:20:52.190
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:20:52.190 --> 00:20:54.690
Ellie Laks: So I said, wow.
00:20:54.690 --> 00:20:56.990
Ellie Laks: I was like, okay.
00:20:56.990 --> 00:21:01.790
Ellie Laks: I went out and I got a huge big bag of, you know, like little gemstones.
00:21:01.790 --> 00:21:02.370
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:21:03.230 --> 00:21:08.670
Ellie Laks: And me and my staff and my volunteer spent weeks bedazzling the entire thing.
00:21:08.670 --> 00:21:11.930
Announcer: I mean, it took long, long, long, long time.
00:21:11.930 --> 00:21:16.190
Ellie Laks: Finally it was done and the whole thing was just shiny and shimmering and beautiful.
00:21:16.710 --> 00:21:22.090
Ellie Laks: And again, I set her in it and I showed her it from the outside and I said, what do you think?
00:21:22.090 --> 00:21:24.410
Ellie Laks: And she busted up laughing.
00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:26.590
Ellie Laks: She said, I can't believe you fell for that.
00:21:26.590 --> 00:21:29.130
Ellie Laks: I can't believe you did that for me.
00:21:29.130 --> 00:21:35.350
Ellie Laks: She was like, I said it, but I really didn't think that you were going to do it and you're such a sucker and I can't believe you just did that for me.
00:21:35.350 --> 00:21:36.490
Announcer: Oh.
00:21:36.490 --> 00:21:39.070
Announcer: So I felt very embarrassed.
00:21:39.070 --> 00:21:39.830
Genie Joseph: Uh-huh.
00:21:39.830 --> 00:21:40.930
Genie Joseph: Uh-huh.
00:21:40.930 --> 00:21:53.630
Ellie Laks: And so every Sunday when we were open to the public, we would set her up in her beautiful bedazzled throne and it would literally come from all over the world to meet her and pay homage to our queen and present her with grapes and blueberries.
00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:55.950
Ellie Laks: Oh, and she really loved it.
00:21:56.570 --> 00:21:57.430
Ellie Laks: She loved it.
00:21:57.430 --> 00:22:00.650
Ellie Laks: She lived like a queen for a year and a half.
00:22:00.650 --> 00:22:05.310
Ellie Laks: And a year and a half later, she looked at me one day and said, this has been great, but I'm done.
00:22:05.310 --> 00:22:06.010
Ellie Laks: Okay.
00:22:06.010 --> 00:22:08.150
Ellie Laks: We helped her transition out of her body.
00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:09.270
Ellie Laks: Wow.
00:22:09.270 --> 00:22:12.550
Ellie Laks: But that was like an experience I'll never forget.
00:22:12.650 --> 00:22:14.670
Ellie Laks: Yeah, especially for reaction.
00:22:14.670 --> 00:22:17.250
Ellie Laks: She wasn't like, oh wow, thank you so much for doing that for me.
00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:19.070
Ellie Laks: She was like, you're such a sucker.
00:22:19.070 --> 00:22:21.110
Announcer: That's so funny.
00:22:21.110 --> 00:22:22.590
Genie Joseph: That's so funny.
00:22:22.590 --> 00:22:23.070
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:22:23.070 --> 00:22:30.730
Ellie Laks: But I was saying before how turkeys, in the domestic turkeys at The Gentle Barn have never lived a day past four.
00:22:30.730 --> 00:22:33.730
Ellie Laks: So we had another turkey named Sun.
00:22:33.730 --> 00:22:38.750
Ellie Laks: Great big white turkey with giant black eyes that you could just drown in.
00:22:38.750 --> 00:22:40.370
Ellie Laks: They were like liquid pools of love.
00:22:41.010 --> 00:22:43.790
Ellie Laks: She made beautiful melodic sounds when she chirped.
00:22:43.790 --> 00:22:47.510
Ellie Laks: She had little pink bumps on her head and neck, and she was absolutely gorgeous.
00:22:47.510 --> 00:22:51.910
Ellie Laks: And she was our queen cuddle turkey for many, many, many years.
00:22:51.910 --> 00:23:00.730
Ellie Laks: People would come to The Gentle Barn, sit down on the ground in front of her, put one leg on either side, scooch up real close, very, very close together.
00:23:00.730 --> 00:23:08.030
Ellie Laks: They would kiss her fuzzy pink head, slide their hands under her wings and stroke her, and she would fall asleep in their laps and bring them to tears.
00:23:08.030 --> 00:23:09.510
Ellie Laks: They would burst into tears.
00:23:09.590 --> 00:23:12.250
Ellie Laks: They couldn't believe how loving and affectionate she was.
00:23:12.250 --> 00:23:13.310
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:23:13.310 --> 00:23:22.330
Ellie Laks: So when she was nearing her fourth birthday, and remember, we've never had a turkey live at Ape House 4, we were desperate for more time with her.
00:23:22.330 --> 00:23:27.050
Ellie Laks: And I asked her, like, if we could do something to help your body, would you want to stay longer?
00:23:27.050 --> 00:23:28.430
Ellie Laks: And she said, yes.
00:23:28.430 --> 00:23:35.330
Ellie Laks: So I don't know why up until now, I never considered giving acupuncture to a turkey.
00:23:35.330 --> 00:23:42.670
Ellie Laks: You know, but we have an acupuncturist that comes to the Gentle Barn to work on the horses, and the cows, and the pigs, and the sheep, and the goats, and the dogs.
00:23:42.670 --> 00:23:46.150
Ellie Laks: And so I asked the acupuncturist if she could work on turkeys.
00:23:46.150 --> 00:23:47.890
Ellie Laks: And she said, of course.
00:23:47.890 --> 00:23:50.910
Ellie Laks: So she started working on Sun.
00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:57.750
Ellie Laks: Sun got acupuncture every single month, and she lived till two months shy of her ninth birthday.
00:23:57.810 --> 00:23:59.210
Announcer: Wow.
00:23:59.210 --> 00:24:00.070
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:24:00.070 --> 00:24:07.550
Ellie Laks: Acupuncture allowed her to keep her mobility and support her respiratory and her heart.
00:24:07.550 --> 00:24:11.350
Ellie Laks: And she made it almost double her lifespan.
00:24:11.350 --> 00:24:12.110
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:24:12.110 --> 00:24:13.370
Genie Joseph: That's amazing.
00:24:13.370 --> 00:24:19.170
Ellie Laks: So every single year, every year before she was four, we celebrated her birthday.
00:24:19.170 --> 00:24:20.830
Ellie Laks: Like we do for all our animals.
00:24:20.830 --> 00:24:24.450
Ellie Laks: But once she turned four, we realized, oh my God, this could be her last year.
00:24:25.290 --> 00:24:29.350
Ellie Laks: So her fourth birthday, her fifth birthday, her sixth birthday, her seventh birthday, her eighth birthday.
00:24:29.350 --> 00:24:30.810
Ellie Laks: It's like, oh my God, this could be the last one.
00:24:30.810 --> 00:24:32.090
Ellie Laks: It has to be the biggest party ever.
00:24:32.090 --> 00:24:36.590
Ellie Laks: So she had these huge celebrations for every single birthday.
00:24:36.590 --> 00:24:37.590
Genie Joseph: Uh-huh.
00:24:37.590 --> 00:24:43.690
Ellie Laks: And so two months shy of her ninth birthday, she couldn't walk anymore.
00:24:43.690 --> 00:24:48.290
Ellie Laks: And her skin was like a purplish color because of the poor circulation.
00:24:48.290 --> 00:24:50.410
Ellie Laks: And she started breathing with her mouth open.
00:24:50.410 --> 00:24:54.190
Ellie Laks: And I talked to her and she said, Yeah, this isn't fun anymore.
00:24:54.650 --> 00:24:55.970
Ellie Laks: I'm ready to go.
00:24:55.970 --> 00:24:59.350
Ellie Laks: So I said to her, Well, what do you need?
00:24:59.350 --> 00:25:00.770
Announcer: What do you want?
00:25:00.770 --> 00:25:01.890
Ellie Laks: What can I bring you?
00:25:01.890 --> 00:25:03.210
Ellie Laks: Is there any place that you want to go?
00:25:03.210 --> 00:25:06.850
Ellie Laks: Is there anything that you want to experience before you transition?
00:25:06.850 --> 00:25:07.650
Ellie Laks: And she said, Yes.
00:25:07.650 --> 00:25:11.690
Ellie Laks: She said, I'm very disappointed that I wasn't able to make it to my ninth birthday.
00:25:11.690 --> 00:25:16.790
Ellie Laks: I have treasured the birthday parties and I was really looking forward to one more.
00:25:16.790 --> 00:25:17.890
Ellie Laks: And I just, I can't do it.
00:25:17.890 --> 00:25:19.170
Ellie Laks: I can't make it.
00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:27.450
Ellie Laks: She said, But do you think that before I pass away, even though it's two months before my birthday, do you think that I can have a birthday party before I leave?
00:25:27.450 --> 00:25:29.710
Ellie Laks: Oh, I said, absolutely.
00:25:29.710 --> 00:25:32.010
Ellie Laks: And so I said, So what do you want?
00:25:32.010 --> 00:25:42.170
Ellie Laks: And she said, I want every volunteer and every staff member and my acupuncturist and the veterinarian, everyone that was close to me and meant something to me, I want them all to come and I want them to celebrate me.
00:25:42.170 --> 00:25:43.730
Ellie Laks: I want them to sing happy birthday.
00:25:43.730 --> 00:25:48.890
Ellie Laks: I want them to kiss me and hug me and cuddle me and share stories and memories.
00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:50.530
Ellie Laks: And I want a real celebration.
00:25:52.270 --> 00:25:55.110
Announcer: And so I said, okay, what do you want the menu to be?
00:25:55.110 --> 00:25:56.510
Ellie Laks: She was very specific.
00:25:56.510 --> 00:25:58.410
Ellie Laks: She said, I want apple pie.
00:25:58.410 --> 00:25:59.630
Ellie Laks: I want grapes.
00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:01.350
Ellie Laks: I want watermelon.
00:26:01.350 --> 00:26:05.150
Ellie Laks: And then she showed me, I want a purple smoothie.
00:26:05.150 --> 00:26:08.530
Ellie Laks: I didn't know what that meant because I had never given her a purple smoothie before.
00:26:08.610 --> 00:26:09.610
Ellie Laks: Right.
00:26:09.610 --> 00:26:12.470
Ellie Laks: So I said, can you describe it a little bit better?
00:26:12.470 --> 00:26:13.910
Ellie Laks: And she said, yeah, a purple smoothie.
00:26:13.910 --> 00:26:18.090
Ellie Laks: And she kept showing me like, you know, what looked like a purple smoothie.
00:26:18.090 --> 00:26:20.730
Ellie Laks: So I wrote it down, but I didn't know what it meant.
00:26:20.730 --> 00:26:25.190
Ellie Laks: And, you know, then I started calling everybody, all our volunteers and our staff to let them know.
00:26:25.190 --> 00:26:28.910
Ellie Laks: So of course, I let my husband know, co-founder of The Gentle Barn, Jay Weiner.
00:26:28.910 --> 00:26:33.570
Ellie Laks: I called our daughter who had known Son her whole life.
00:26:33.570 --> 00:26:38.890
Ellie Laks: And when I was talking to my daughter, she said, I said, you know, we're going to have a party for her.
00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:39.470
Ellie Laks: Can you come?
00:26:39.470 --> 00:26:43.650
Ellie Laks: And she said, yes, of course, I'll be there and I'll pick up an acai bowl on the way.
00:26:43.650 --> 00:26:45.710
Ellie Laks: And I said, wait a minute, what made you say that?
00:26:45.710 --> 00:26:46.890
Ellie Laks: And she said, oh, that was our thing.
00:26:46.990 --> 00:26:54.610
Ellie Laks: I always shared acai bowls with her, which if you know what an acai bowl is, they're basically a purple smoothie with like chunsao, and then granola.
00:26:54.610 --> 00:26:55.110
Genie Joseph: Uh-huh.
00:26:55.110 --> 00:26:55.570
Announcer: Uh-huh.
00:26:55.570 --> 00:26:58.130
Announcer: I was like, oh my God, she showed me a purple smoothie.
00:26:58.130 --> 00:26:59.190
Announcer: I didn't know what it meant.
00:26:59.190 --> 00:27:01.070
Ellie Laks: And she's like, yeah, that was our thing.
00:27:01.070 --> 00:27:01.930
Genie Joseph: Oh.
00:27:01.930 --> 00:27:04.270
Announcer: My daughter picked up the acai bowl.
00:27:04.270 --> 00:27:07.250
Ellie Laks: We got the apple pie and the grapes and the watermelon.
00:27:07.250 --> 00:27:09.090
Ellie Laks: And we had a real party for her.
00:27:09.090 --> 00:27:10.990
Ellie Laks: We sang her happy birthday a million times.
00:27:10.990 --> 00:27:11.950
Ellie Laks: We took pictures.
00:27:11.950 --> 00:27:15.550
Ellie Laks: We sat around her in a circle and we shared stories and traded memories.
00:27:16.110 --> 00:27:17.930
Ellie Laks: And it was beautiful.
00:27:17.930 --> 00:27:20.270
Ellie Laks: And I had ordered her a birthday cake.
00:27:20.270 --> 00:27:21.990
Ellie Laks: It's not what she asked for.
00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:25.910
Ellie Laks: But I wanted to light it and sing her happy birthday.
00:27:25.910 --> 00:27:30.610
Ellie Laks: So when I presented her with a cake, she looked up at me and she said, this is not what I ordered.
00:27:30.610 --> 00:27:34.830
Ellie Laks: And I said, I know, I know, the apple pie is coming, but I just thought that you would like a birthday cake.
00:27:34.830 --> 00:27:36.010
Ellie Laks: And she said, no, I'm not going to eat that.
00:27:36.010 --> 00:27:37.630
Ellie Laks: It's not what I asked for.
00:27:37.630 --> 00:27:41.690
Ellie Laks: Oh, the human volunteers and staff ate the birthday cake.
00:27:41.690 --> 00:27:44.730
Ellie Laks: And when the apple pie arrived, she gobbled the whole thing up.
00:27:45.030 --> 00:27:46.030
Genie Joseph: The whole thing.
00:27:46.030 --> 00:27:46.630
Ellie Laks: The whole thing.
00:27:46.630 --> 00:27:48.970
Ellie Laks: She only ate the things that she put on the menu.
00:27:48.970 --> 00:27:49.370
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:27:49.370 --> 00:27:51.330
Ellie Laks: She used to eat anything else.
00:27:51.330 --> 00:27:58.670
Ellie Laks: So then everybody kissed her goodbye and laughed, and we were waiting for the vet to come up to help her transition out of her body.
00:27:58.670 --> 00:28:10.730
Ellie Laks: And so I closed my eyes in the few minutes that we had left together, and I said to her, the vet is on her way up, are you still sure that you want to go?
00:28:10.730 --> 00:28:12.230
Ellie Laks: And she said, yes, yes, please.
00:28:12.230 --> 00:28:12.970
Ellie Laks: Yes, please.
00:28:12.970 --> 00:28:13.850
Ellie Laks: I am complete.
00:28:14.730 --> 00:28:18.630
Ellie Laks: And so I said to her, do you have any messages that you want to share?
00:28:18.630 --> 00:28:20.790
Ellie Laks: Is there anything else that I could bring you?
00:28:20.790 --> 00:28:23.510
Ellie Laks: Do you want me to carry around the barnyard so you can see it one last time?
00:28:23.510 --> 00:28:26.050
Ellie Laks: Like is there anything that you want before you go?
00:28:26.050 --> 00:28:28.270
Ellie Laks: We have like a few minutes before the vet gets here.
00:28:28.270 --> 00:28:31.090
Ellie Laks: And she said, yes, I want to tell you something.
00:28:31.090 --> 00:28:33.010
Ellie Laks: And I said, yeah, I'm listening.
00:28:33.010 --> 00:28:37.210
Ellie Laks: And she said, I'm very worried about the state of humanity.
00:28:38.910 --> 00:28:40.850
Ellie Laks: And I said, can you tell me a little bit more about that?
00:28:41.750 --> 00:28:58.310
Ellie Laks: And she said, you know, at the Gentle Barn, you think that cuddle turkeys are very important and very impactful because of the way that people can cuddle with us and they're getting the unconditional love and the kindness and the gentleness and it burst them to tears.
00:28:58.310 --> 00:29:00.150
Genie Joseph: She said, that's true.
00:29:00.150 --> 00:29:02.130
Ellie Laks: She said, but there's more to it than that.
00:29:02.130 --> 00:29:05.230
Ellie Laks: And I said, oh, please tell me.
00:29:05.230 --> 00:29:08.890
Ellie Laks: And she said, people walk around closed up.
00:29:09.790 --> 00:29:19.850
Ellie Laks: Their heads are down, they're looking on the ground, they don't look at each other, their shoulders are bent forward, their arms are across their chest in a protective posture.
00:29:19.850 --> 00:29:26.290
Ellie Laks: People are not open, they're closed, they're protecting themselves, they're inward, they're not connecting.
00:29:26.290 --> 00:29:35.970
Ellie Laks: She said, one of the reasons why cuddle turkeys are so impactful is because we are showing them something that they rarely get to experience with other humans.
00:29:36.790 --> 00:29:53.990
Ellie Laks: She said, when I'm in the cuddle turkey pose, I look them directly in their eyes, I open my wings, I open my chest, I completely avail myself to them, and I'm giving them all of my energy and I'm receiving all of theirs.
00:29:53.990 --> 00:30:01.830
Ellie Laks: And it's not something that they experience from other humans, and they're so touched by me being so open and loving to them that it brings them to tears.
00:30:01.830 --> 00:30:01.970
Ellie Laks: Wow.
00:30:02.850 --> 00:30:07.110
Ellie Laks: And she said, she said, it's like someone who's jumping into a pool.
00:30:07.110 --> 00:30:13.590
Ellie Laks: If you jump into a pool in a cannonball position and you hold that position, you're going to drown, you're going to sink.
00:30:13.590 --> 00:30:24.830
Ellie Laks: But if you dive into a pool with your arms open and your eyes looking forward and your body opening, then you land and you glide, you glide water.
00:30:24.830 --> 00:30:36.910
Ellie Laks: She said, please tell as many human beings as you possibly can, my message, that in order to create healing and love and peace on this planet, we need to all become cuddle turkeys.
00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:49.030
Ellie Laks: That when you're walking in a crowded airport or in a mall or along the street, remind yourself not to look on the ground, but pick your head up and look at the people that you're passing.
00:30:49.030 --> 00:30:56.710
Announcer: Look in their eyes, smile at them, open your chest, open your heart, open your arms and give them your energy.
00:30:56.990 --> 00:30:59.010
Ellie Laks: And they can give you their energy.
00:30:59.010 --> 00:31:04.090
Ellie Laks: And with that connection, that's how this planet will start healing.
00:31:04.090 --> 00:31:04.910
Ellie Laks: Wow.
00:31:04.910 --> 00:31:07.350
Ellie Laks: And I was absolutely blown away.
00:31:07.350 --> 00:31:08.490
Ellie Laks: And it's so true.
00:31:08.490 --> 00:31:13.490
Ellie Laks: And there are times where I'm moving about, and I catch myself in that protective o's.
00:31:13.490 --> 00:31:15.670
Ellie Laks: And I go, no, I have to be a Cuddle Turkey.
00:31:15.670 --> 00:31:18.910
Ellie Laks: And I open up and it feels wonderful to do it.
00:31:18.910 --> 00:31:28.230
Ellie Laks: At first, it feels a little awkward, but to remind myself constantly to get in that Cuddle Turkey position and open my heart and look into people's eyes.
00:31:28.230 --> 00:31:30.830
Ellie Laks: And the majority of people don't look in my eyes back.
00:31:30.830 --> 00:31:34.930
Ellie Laks: But what they do, it's a wonderful exchange of love and energy.
00:31:34.930 --> 00:31:43.130
Ellie Laks: And it's that love that we can keep creating when we remind ourselves to be in the Cuddle Turkey position and start healing humanity.
00:31:43.130 --> 00:31:44.230
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:31:44.230 --> 00:31:44.850
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:31:44.850 --> 00:31:50.470
Genie Joseph: I mean, it would be amazing if Thanksgiving was not eating the turkey, but having this kind of love.
00:31:51.590 --> 00:31:55.790
Genie Joseph: Can you imagine if we had Cuddle Turkey position parties?
00:31:55.790 --> 00:31:56.330
Genie Joseph: Yes.
00:31:56.330 --> 00:32:09.610
Ellie Laks: So at the Gentle Barn, we have a celebration on Thanksgiving Day where people from around the world can come to the Gentle Barn and any of the three locations and cuddle turkeys and feed them pie.
00:32:09.610 --> 00:32:11.530
Ellie Laks: Vegan pie and apple cider.
00:32:11.530 --> 00:32:24.290
Ellie Laks: We have drum circles to participate in and we connect as a tribe, we connect as all living beings, we're all the same and we celebrate their life and their intelligence and their messages instead of eating them.
00:32:24.290 --> 00:32:25.710
Ellie Laks: And it's wonderful.
00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:32.890
Ellie Laks: So I invite everybody to join us at the Gentle Barn for Thanksgiving to celebrate these beautiful animals.
00:32:32.890 --> 00:32:33.370
Genie Joseph: Wow.
00:32:33.370 --> 00:32:34.230
Genie Joseph: Wonderful.
00:32:34.230 --> 00:32:38.610
Genie Joseph: And do you have pictures of the cuddle turkeys on your websites within that position?
00:32:38.610 --> 00:32:40.350
Genie Joseph: Do you have some pictures like that?
00:32:40.350 --> 00:32:43.490
Ellie Laks: Well, not necessarily on the website, but definitely on social media.
00:32:43.490 --> 00:32:51.750
Ellie Laks: So people can follow the Gentle Barn on all social media platforms, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter.
00:32:51.750 --> 00:32:57.410
Ellie Laks: Just come and follow us, and you can see videos and pictures of these remarkable, remarkable animals.
00:32:57.410 --> 00:32:58.290
Genie Joseph: Wonderful.
00:32:58.290 --> 00:33:02.590
Genie Joseph: And if people want to get a hold of you or come and visit, what do they need to do?
00:33:02.590 --> 00:33:04.450
Ellie Laks: So check us out at gentlebarn.org.
00:33:05.590 --> 00:33:07.330
Ellie Laks: You can find out all about visiting.
00:33:07.330 --> 00:33:13.810
Ellie Laks: You can come for a cow hug therapy or barnyard therapy, where cuddling turkeys is part of the session.
00:33:13.810 --> 00:33:15.150
Ellie Laks: You can get tickets for Thanksgiving.
00:33:15.270 --> 00:33:23.130
Ellie Laks: I don't know if tickets for Thanksgiving are quite on our website, but in the next few weeks, they will be on our website to people can book tickets.
00:33:23.130 --> 00:33:28.290
Ellie Laks: People can make a donation to enable us to help more animals that literally have nowhere else to go.
00:33:28.290 --> 00:33:30.890
Ellie Laks: We can't do this work without the support of the community.
00:33:30.890 --> 00:33:34.210
Ellie Laks: So donate, come and visit, follow.
00:33:34.210 --> 00:33:38.030
Ellie Laks: Follow us on social media, fall in love with these animals, come for Thanksgiving.
00:33:38.030 --> 00:33:39.990
Ellie Laks: Get a copy of my new book, Cow Hug Therapy.
00:33:41.850 --> 00:33:48.350
Genie Joseph: Yes, we have an episode with Ellie, where we talk about cow hug therapy on The Human-Animal Connection.
00:33:48.350 --> 00:33:50.130
Genie Joseph: So hope you'll listen to that.
00:33:50.130 --> 00:33:54.270
Genie Joseph: And do you have just a parting, parting last message for our audience?
00:33:54.270 --> 00:33:57.230
Genie Joseph: And maybe it's from you or maybe it's from one of your animals.
00:33:58.250 --> 00:34:14.390
Ellie Laks: I kind of hit on this in the last episode, but I just feel so called to say it again, that animals are more intelligent and more aware of what's happening on this planet, to their kind and our human apathy.
00:34:14.390 --> 00:34:24.090
Ellie Laks: These animals are really aware of the energy on this planet, the demise of this planet, the pain and the suffering and the apathy on this planet.
00:34:24.090 --> 00:34:26.950
Ellie Laks: And they are here wanting to make it better.
00:34:26.950 --> 00:34:29.810
Ellie Laks: They want to participate to open people's hearts.
00:34:29.810 --> 00:34:36.050
Ellie Laks: And they keep showing up, these animals keep showing up, giving us an opportunity to awaken to love.
00:34:36.050 --> 00:34:40.910
Ellie Laks: And they come here and they look at us with eyes of love and they look at us with eyes of trust.
00:34:40.910 --> 00:34:43.610
Ellie Laks: And then they get slaughtered and they just keep coming back.
00:34:43.610 --> 00:34:51.910
Ellie Laks: And they'll just keep coming back over and over and over until we can return that gaze of love and we can return that gaze of trust.
00:34:51.910 --> 00:34:58.730
Ellie Laks: And we can give them the love that they know that we're capable of and that they're waiting for us to exude.
00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:11.630
Ellie Laks: And so with each person that connects with these animals, cuddles a turkey, hugs a cow, gives a pig a tummy rub, realizes who they truly are and realizes that we are all the same, though we might show up in different forms.
00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:14.170
Ellie Laks: That's how we're going to save this planet.
00:35:14.170 --> 00:35:15.670
Ellie Laks: That's how we're going to heal our bodies.
00:35:15.670 --> 00:35:22.410
Ellie Laks: And that's how we're going to create connections between us all because we're all the same and we're all here to lift each other up.
00:35:22.410 --> 00:35:23.450
Genie Joseph: Beautiful.
00:35:23.450 --> 00:35:28.870
Genie Joseph: Well, I want to thank you so much, Ellie Laks from The Gentle Barn and author of Cow Hug Therapy.
00:35:28.870 --> 00:35:34.570
Genie Joseph: And I'm so glad you could be with us today to tell us all about talking to turkeys and cuddling with turkeys.
00:35:34.570 --> 00:35:34.890
Genie Joseph: Thank you.
00:35:34.970 --> 00:35:36.050
Announcer: Thank you so much.
00:35:36.050 --> 00:35:39.130
Ellie Laks: Thank you for having me and loving animals with me.
00:35:39.130 --> 00:35:40.150
Genie Joseph: Yeah.
00:35:40.150 --> 00:35:41.210
Genie Joseph: To be continued.
00:35:41.210 --> 00:35:43.010
Genie Joseph: Well, let us know when you want to come back.
00:35:43.010 --> 00:35:44.230
Genie Joseph: We'll do another show.
00:35:44.230 --> 00:35:45.290
Announcer: I would love that.
00:35:45.290 --> 00:35:46.370
Announcer: I would love that.
00:35:46.370 --> 00:35:46.990
Genie Joseph: OK.
00:35:46.990 --> 00:35:48.190
Genie Joseph: Bye for now.
00:35:48.190 --> 00:35:51.930
Genie Joseph: This is The Human-Animal Connection, and I'm your host, Jeanne Joseph.
00:35:51.930 --> 00:35:53.650
Genie Joseph: We'll see you in the next episode.
00:35:53.650 --> 00:35:55.090
Genie Joseph: Aloha for now.
00:35:55.090 --> 00:35:58.390
Announcer: Thank you for tuning in to The Human-Animal Connection show.
00:35:58.390 --> 00:36:01.150
Announcer: Please visit our website, thehumananimalconnection.org.
00:36:03.130 --> 00:36:09.950
Announcer: There you can sign up for our free email newsletter, book a consultation, or check out our blogs and resources.
00:36:09.950 --> 00:36:21.410
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00:36:36.010 --> 00:36:41.110
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