A woman who took a live turkey on a Delta Air Lines flight was bringing the 'emotional support' animal to her family's home for Christmas.
Jodie Smalley, from Seattle, Washington state, was spotted using her yellow-beaked bird, Easter, as a 'therapy' pet during her two-hour flight to Salt Lake City in Utah.
After the plane touched down, she lovingly pushed the feathered creature through the airport in a wheelchair, before taking it to her brother's house for festive celebrations.
But despite the time of year, she says that she didn't eat the turkey - instead, taking it on a return flight home with her a few days later, Mirror Online can reveal.
This is because, Ms Smalley says, Easter offers her comfort - and reminds her on a daily basis that 'there is a reason to smile and to care, no matter how bad things are'.
The turkey was allowed to travel on the flight under the Air Carrier Access Act 1968, which legally permits customers to fly with emotional support animals.
Ms Smalley, who lost her husband in recent years, wrote on Facebook how she adopted the animal after her friends spotted the then-chick shivering in the road on Easter Day.
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She quickly fell in love with the creature and found it comforting at a hard time in her life.
"Easter came to me as a tiny poult at an emotionally difficult time in my life," Ms Smalley said.
"She became a source of love and laughter... Something to focus and care for outside my issues... She remained a constant amongst chaos."
Ms Smalley said she took Easter home for Christmas with her for emotional support because she feared her brother's 'amazing family and loving wife' would make her feel grief over her husband's death.
"I am so thankful to have her. Grief has been coming up. Seeing my brother's amazing family and him and his loving wife certainly made me miss my marriage and my husband," she wrote.
The widow, who used to live in Salt Lake City with her husband, explained how she had no luggage cart to transport Easter through the city's airport, so a wheelchair was provided by staff.
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"It was intimidating having a wall of people waiting to board the plane watching us as I situated our gear and loaded her," she said.
During both her outbound and inbound flight, Ms Smalley found Easter was the centre of attention.
Stunned passengers and cabin crew members snapped photos of the turkey sitting happily on a plane seat and being carted through the airport in the wheelchair.
Some of these pictures were later posted them online, where they quickly went viral.
Ms Smalley said her pet's new-found fame had resulted in inaccurate 'assumptions' being made about herself and her pet.
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"Easter has certainly ruffled some feathers while on our trip home for Christmas," she said.
She said the turkey was not disruptive - instead, sitting 'quietly' in her lap while she chatted to two women next to her.
"The airline pilots and attendants loved her. She even got a pair of little wings for flying so well," she wrote.
"The wonder Easter brought to travelers was such a bonus of having her with me on a trip that was great but emotionally strenuous as well."
Ms Smalley added that she hoped Easter would help raise awareness that support animals 'can come in all sorts of species'.
"To judge someone because of having one and what kind is ignorant," she wrote.
According to videos posted on Facebook, Easter also regularly joins Ms Smalley in her car.
Remarkably, the turkey always 'rides shotgun' and appears completely at ease in the vehicle.
Easter hit the headlines this week after an Imgur user uploaded a photo of her online, writing: "My neighbor is a flight attendant. He just posted this photo of someone's 'therapy pet' on his flight."
Another Reddit user, whose friend was apparently the pilot on the flight, also posted an image of the turkey sitting in the wheelchair in Utah.
On its website, Delta says customers can fly with therapy pets as long as they're 'trained to behave properly in public settings'.
The animals can travel free of charge and are 'exempt from cabin allotment'.
They are permitted, however, to travel in the cabin with passengers.
Although Delta allows 'domestic' birds on flights, its rules state that 'farm poultry' are 'unacceptable' travel companions, meaning Easter was lucky to make the flight.
A Delta spokesman told USA Today in a statement: "Delta complies with the Air Carrier Access Act by allowing customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge in the cabin.
"While we can’t always accommodate all pets, Delta employees made a judgment call based in part on extensive documentation from the customer.
"We review each case and make every effort to accommodate our customers’ travel needs while also taking into consideration the health and safety of other passengers."
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The turkey sighting comes nearly a year after a 29-year-old woman was escorted off a US Airways flight when her 'emotional support' pig started defecating on the floor and squealing loudly.
Rachael Boerner and her enormous pot-bellied pig Hobey were ordered to leave the plane before it got off the ground at Hartford's Bradley International Airport last February.
The Mirror Online has contacted Delta for comment.