A WOMAN who reached out in desperation for help from the public to reunite with her emotional support animal, a pet chicken, has been bombarded with unwanted proposals, ridiculed and castigated by unkind people.
Sherris Khan, 25, of Cumuto, says she knew when she posted the missing poster for Peep and offered a reward of $500 on April 28 some people would find it funny. But she did not anticipate the gravity of hate and spite from people who flooded the comments under the Facebook post, or those who blasted her phone with messages and calls seeking a relationship.
While many people were sympathetic and prayed for her to find her pet, a significant number told her to move on as they believed the bird had already been curried and eaten.
In an interview with Sunday Newsday in Sangre Grande on Friday, Khan said even if someone stole her pet from her home and made a meal of it she wanted closure as she considered the chicken as her child.
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"Everybody on social media does just take everything for a joke." She said she did not get any useful information about her missing pet and is constantly at edge wondering if Peep is in pain or worse, dead.
"Some people love materialistic things and they don't how to value life. I'm not looking for attention or fame, I just want my chicken back."
Khan said her mother has been a rock of support and even though she was at first sceptical about posting the missing poster on Facebook, she relented so that "the person who took Peep will realise just how much that chicken is of value to me."
This newspaper decided to not use Khan's image to protect her from further trauma.
The soft-spoken woman was emotional and on the verge of tears as she recalled her time with Peep. She said her pet lived indoors, watched television, and was at her side for most of the day whenever she is at home.
[caption id="attachment_952299" align="alignnone" width="480"] The missing poster pleading for people to help find the missing chicken. -[/caption]
On April 24, she let Peep outside to mingle with her companions, Springs and Browns, two other layers she bought to keep her beloved chicken company. Sometime between noon and 3 pm, Peep went missing and led to a frantic search in the rural community where hunting is a vocation. She could not find any feathers or even a trail of blood in the days that followed but still clings on to hope that someone stole her chicken and may have her pet alive in captivity.
"Even if she is not alive, I still want her," Khan said. She said the first day without Peep was the hardest as she could not eat or sleep.
Every time Khan goes home she is reminded of the emptiness and silence without the happy chirping of her pet.
Last April, Khan was diagnosed with covid19 which knocked her off her feet.
She said Peep helped her cope during the pandemic an
