[duck peeps]
[Kathy] Hello, Innes,
you sleeping? You sleeping?
[Gary] Hi, Innes Peep.
[Kathy] Come on, you can stand up.
Come on, Innes, little baby.
[Gary] This is Innes Peep.
We found her in our yard a week ago.
[Kathy] Peep, peep.
[Gary] We couldn't find his mom,
there was no Mama.
Look, look, you say hi to
baby, you wanna kiss the baby?
[Gary] They'll grow up fast,
then fly away, and hopefully survive.
[slow piano music]
[answering machine] Hello,
you've reached the residence
of Kathy and Gary Murphy.
Sorry we can't take
your message right now,
please leave your number, and--
[indistinct talking]
[Kathy] They're a little
over a month old now,
except for Innes Peep,
which is a little bit older.
There's Innes Peep,
right there, Innes Peep.
[indistinct talking]
Look at them babies,
it's a box of ducks.
-Hi.
-[laughs]
[Gary] Nice summer day.
[slow music]
[Kathy] I found a little
duck in the yard one day
and that was all she wrote.
Hey, they're a week old today.
I had one, and of course, the one had
to have a friend, so it just
kind of started from there.
There's Anconas and magpies.
I hatched them.
I got them in the mail.
Gary.
[Gary] Hold on, duckies, huh,
quack, quack, quack, quack.
[ducks quack]
[bird chirps]
[rooster crows]
-[ducks quack]
-[turkey gobbles]
All right, that's one,
we have more. Hi.
-[ducks quack]
-[turkeys gobbles]
I hear you, they see this here.
[ducks quack]
Come on.
[indistinct talking]
[ducks quack]
I love it up here, I love what I'm doing.
They're family, to me they're family.
Hi, Declan.
But you have to have
something that really,
you really believe in,
I don't care what it is,
like you have to have a hobby,
something you like to do,
you know, something that makes you want
to get up in the morning and do it.
I just seem to relate to them,
I don't know, it's hard to explain.
-[slow music]
-[duck quacks]
They sleep with me, they hang out with me,
they watch TV with me,
they have snacks with me. [laughs]
No, I mean, really.
It's only me, what are you doing, what?
-What?
-[chicken clucks]
I think it just expanded
everything, I mean, for,
you know, spiritually,
I do more meditation now,
craftwork, creative kind
of things, you know?
-[slow music]
-[duck quacks]
[Gary] I like to look at 'em and stuff,
but I wish they were
a little bit further away.
[rooster crows]
The cockle-doodle-doos,
you know, after a while,
sometimes it gets on my nerves, you know?
I've been working, 'cause
I usually work midnight to 8:00,
and, like, when you come
home in the morning,
you don't, you don't want to
be hearing that, you know?
Not that he doesn't like 'em,
I don't know
what the correct word would be.
Disinterested, maybe,
is more of a better word, okay?
He does like them, "per se," you know,
but he's not, like,
he doesn't love them like I do.
Gary goes to concerts
and things like that,
he likes to travel,
which is not my thing, it's okay.
I just kind of hang out here.
-I love it.
-[rooster clucks]
Sometimes the looks
he gives you, it's comical.
Oh, yes, he's a comical boy.
[clucks]
That's Pogo.
What do you think?
I know, aw, but they're good, though.
They form little family bonds, they do,
friendships, they most definitely do.
There's no doubt about it,
and she likes those elbow
macaroni noodles, don't you?
Yeah, you like pasta,
you like the pasta, don't you?
Huh, I'm amazed.
She's such a baby, huh, girl?
[slow piano music]
So, it's an unusual pet for the house,
who cares, I don't,
I never cared about that, either.
You know,
about being "so-called different,"
who the heck cares, you know?
You see, he's, like,
more concerned with what,
what would people think.
[Gary] 25 years up here now, yeah.
It's interesting, to say the least.
[Kathy] He knows I'm attached,
but not how really much
I'm attached to them.
I would die for them.
[thunder rumbles]
[phone line rings]
[Elana] A number of the birds
I know are in cages
and apparently they're stuffed
into these sheds at night
and it's way, way overcrowded.
But I told her, "Would you be comfortable
with a sanctuary like us,
a place where they'd live out their life
taking care of these animals,"
and she said, "Oh, yes,
I just don't want them to be killed.
I love these animals
I don't want anything
bad to happen to them."
[geese honk]
[Kathy] These are my babies,
they get along pretty well,
they really do, you know?
That's MacGregor.
[Sheila] MacGregor?
[Kathy] MacGregor.
That's a good Scottish name.
[Kathy] It is, he's a sweet boy, though.
This is Deirdre.
That's his girl. Another, same breed,
blue slate.
She's a sweet girl.
Yeah, I know, it's okay.
[Sheila] Is there anybody at the moment
that's either not well,
or that you're worried about
that we could help you with?
[Kathy] If you want to
take a couple of the ducks for now,
it's up to you.
I trust you guys.
[Sheila] Yeah.
[Gary] So you're from Scotland, huh?
[Sheila] Yeah.
[Gary] Wow.
[Sheila] For a good place,
you know,
she's trying to do a good thing,
but it just gets--
Out of hand?
-Yeah.
-Yeah, it's too much.
It's kind of hard to get to,
but those are less muddy.
You're okay.
[Gary] Stop by whenever.
[Sheila] Thanks very much,
and we'll be in touch.
[Kathy] All right,
that sounds good, all right?
[Sheila] Yeah, thank you.
[Kathy] All right, have a good day.
[Sheila] Yeah.
[Kathy] Drive safe, all right?
[Sheila] Yes, you take care.
Oh, dear.
Hello, Elana, I definitely think
close to 100 ducks,
around the 40-mark for chickens,
the majority of them are roosters,
but there's only two turkeys,
and seven geese.
They look damp and muddy,
and they're in close proximity,
but she did let them out before,
but they got eaten,
so that's why she's got them in,
so she's trying.
We just took four of the skinny ones,
just, as I say, to start the process.
[slow music]
[dog barks]
-It's okay.
-[duck quacks]
Come on out, duckie ducks.
Look at that, look, stay, no, no.
No, go that way,
it's all right, you're very pretty.
There you go, look, see,
there's your friend.
There's your friend. Oh, they smell bad.
-It's a nice place.
-[ducks quack]
Do you know how
many chickens you have?
No, no,
I don't even have a head count.
That means too many.
Well, not necessarily,
not necessarily.
If you can't count them.
I never really tried
counting them, but whatever.
I'm telling her,
we're trying to figure out
how many she can keep,
and I'm saying maximum ten
in this area, maximum.
To not over-poop things,
and have it be easily maintainable.
That's about right,
if you want to keep a healthy, safe flock.
Where you're not out here
pitching that every weekend.
I would say two geese,
and eight ducks.
[Kathy] All right,
let me think about it, but--
Okay, and you don't
have to decide today,
'cause this is gonna be a process.
[Kathy] Right, okay.
[Kim] So we're gonna go in right now,
let's start counting.
-[Kathy] That's a girl.
-[indistinct talking]
Now, what is that, just,
like, frost bite
kind of thing, is that what that is?
[Tony] It's called bumblefoot.
[Kim] It's a foot infection.
Keep an eye on this one, I see a couple
of eye infections here too.
[Kathy] Male, white.
[Tony] The feather quality is not good.
-Okay.
-[Kim] The ones that are infected,
they're gonna need a prescription,
of something like Baytril, okay?
Okay, I've heard of that, sure.
[Elana] And the bumblefoot
is easily treatable.
[Kim] It's going to need foot cream.
This one's a little more severe,
you might need antibiotics for a week.
[indistinct talking]
[Elana] Kathy.
They look healthy to me,
I think she does,
I mean, she does feed 'em good.
It's one thing if you had
a whole bunch of help,
you know, if you had,
like, a whole bunch of,
you know, kids or neighbors, or,
you know, people right close by
that was into it.
But trying to get that
across to her, you know?
I laugh, and I really shouldn't,
'cause it's not funny.
'Cause it just gets old.
But, with her, you just
don't seem to get anywhere.
She just seems to want to do
what she's doing.
They're good,
it's getting windier.
-Okay.
-[goose honks]
[Kim] You show me who I can take.
[Kathy] This is Yolanda.
[Tony] Yolanda.
[geese honk]
-[Kim] Girl.
-That's a girl.
[ducks quack]
So we have
the ability to take six today.
Okay.
And we're gonna be setting
up a temporary shelter
and fencing, and then turkeys,
it's fatal for turkeys, roundworm.
[Kathy] Right, okay.
So I'm really concerned
about the turkeys.
All right.
As you know,
we talked a few times,
and I have a lovely home for them,
and they could treat them.
Let me think about that,
'cause that was the ones
that I actually really wanted
-to keep were the turkeys.
-How many turkeys do you have?
-Just two.
-All right.
[Kathy] Just because, I, like,
they're the ones
who I'll actually hang out with
in the summer,
they're out in the yard with me.
-[Kim] Think about it.
-Let me think about it, 'cause--
But you only have
one week to think about that one
'cause those animals are in danger.
[Kathy] All right.
[geese honk]
[pigs grunt]
[ducks quack]
This is a pond.
It's not really a proper pond
but it's some water.
-Try that.
-[ducks quack]
[slow music]
I don't know what it's like to be a duck,
but just from a basic point of view,
it seems like they should have enough room
to do the things that ducks would do.
They need water.
They're supposed to have
this kind of freedom.
With Kathy, I don't think
they're being willfully badly treated,
but how she sees them, and how maybe
I think they should be living
are maybe slightly different.
[phone rings]
[Elana] Good afternoon,
Woodstock Sanctuary, can I help you?
We get emails and phone calls every week
about animals being neglected.
At this point, Kathy seems
to trust us in some ways
because she knows
we're an animal sanctuary.
So we're gonna keep finding homes
for the 150 animals that are at the site.
-[Kathy] Bedtime.
-[geese honk]
Wait a minute, it's not that funny.
I got you.
Hey, baby, go. Where are you going?
There you are, Amadeus, good night.
[slow guitar music]
-Nice music.
-[slow guitar music]
-Hey, guys.
-[Dave] Hey.
[Kathy] What are you doing?
[Dave] No, I'm just having a little fun.
[Gary] So it's nice out, right?
[slow guitar music]
[indistinct talking]
[Kathy] What are you doing, you silly boy?
You're a silly boy, aren't you?
Hey, lady
You got the love I need
[crows]
[quacking]
[Kathy] With the sanctuary thing,
it's not my interest, per se,
it's more Gary's.
I want to keep some, no matter what,
but I'll miss 'em
because I'm with 'em every day,
I mean, think about it. And most of 'em,
I raised from babies,
so I've seen 'em grow up.
Yeah, no doubt about it,
it's like giving away
my feather children,
that's what I call 'em,
kids with feathers, I love it.
We have just one human child,
two granddaughters,
I haven't seen 'em in a while,
I need to reconnect.
-[ducks quack]
-[geese honk]
[Gary] You ever been to Europe?
When I was over there in the army,
I was stationed north of Frankfurt.
There was this old, ruined castle,
I'll never forget it.
I'm walking through the old moat,
where the moat was,
and I start sinking in mud,
I started to get worried,
'cause it was almost
a little like quicksand,
but I got through it,
and I'm standing in the middle
of this old, blown-out castle.
And the roof is blown out,
and I was just thinking to myself,
what happened here, you know?
[geese honk]
But we go, you know,
we'll go in the summertime,
we'll go in the stream, and you go,
you could go swimming over here, even.
I used to come back here,
and I would make Christmas sprays
and wreaths from all the evergreen stuff.
[slow music]
This little stream.
It's a different place
from when we first came here.
[Pastor] God of all creation,
who has filled the face
of the earth with living things,
Kathy and Gary have come to this place.
[Gary] I met her through my sister,
they went to college together.
[Pastor] Do you wish to build a home
that has a rock as a foundation?
And I declare that
you are husband and wife.
[people applauding and cheering]
[slow music]
[people cheering]
[indistinct talking]
[Gary] She's brilliant in many ways.
[woman] This is the fire woman,
Ms. Kathy Murphy, yay, Kathy Murphy!
-[man] The Murphys.
-The Murphys.
[Gary] Neighbors and friends
came up all the time.
[indistinct talking]
Our daughter, Deena,
she moved to Pennsylvania.
It used to be clean, it used to look nice.
[indistinct talking]
It still could go back to that.
Yep.
[ducks quack]
[slow piano music]
You know that slate board,
it doesn't hold up.
It drips from here, and from now on,
it makes it wet down here,
I told you that.
-They're silly, right?
-[geese honk]
What's up, guys? What's up, huh?
[geese honk]
Yeah?
[ducks quack]
[Nicole] Today we're gonna focus on--
[Sheila] Making it nicer.
Cleaning, getting her set up
on a system, and then--
Do you have carriers
in case she let's you take the turkeys?
Well.
My only concern is
if there's a window of opportunity
-where she's willing to...
-We should take it.
-...surrender them.
-Right.
I don't think we can pass it up--
[Nicole] Okay, yeah, okay.
[car engine starting]
[slow piano music]
[Nicole] We brought you nice rakes,
-these are for you to keep.
-[Kathy] Really?
[Nicole] Absolutely.
At least we got
the weather on our side. [laughs]
[Kathy] Good old dirt.
[Nicole] So you said you do
some craftwork or something?
[Kathy] Yeah, quilting and beading,
and woodworking sometimes,
it depends on what
I'm in the mood for.
[Nicole] That's cool.
-Multi-talented lady.
-[Kathy] Yeah, I try.
What are you doing?
What's going on? What is that about?
Now you're gonna show off
with your girl,
you know, he never does that, never.
What are you doing, standing on your girl?
Give her a break, come on, yeah,
give her a break, come on, good idea.
There's always something to learn,
oh, my gosh, yeah. No matter who you are,
no matter what you're learning about,
always something to learn.
It's more fun with when you have people
who like the same things you do.
[Nicole] And you're not gonna have
to change this out every day, Kathy.
[Kathy] Oh, no problem.
[Nicole] They like it, right?
Oh, sure.
Deirdre, sweet girl.
[Nicole] Mama's taking good care of you
[Kathy] With the help of my friends.
What do you think, guys, huh?
What do you think? Go see, go look.
[chickens clucking]
We're all kind of helping,
work together to
help you get everybody healthy,
and, you know,
create a simple system for you, and...
Sounds good to me.
...try to place some of these guys,
and with regard to the turkeys...
-Mmm-hmm.
-Um...
By them being in with the ducks,
you know, they have the potential of,
there's a risk of them
contracting the roundworm,
which, for the turkeys,
can be fatal. Right?
Um, and, you know,
obviously we're concerned about that,
right, so, you know, we...
I don't know how you,
if you considered, you know...
I knew you were gonna
give it some thought,
as far as, you know,
maybe letting us take them
and treat them.
You know, us treating them
at the med center,
you know, we can, you know,
we have to weigh them,
we've got to get them on proper meds.
There's sort of, you do a step one
and a step two, two weeks later,
you know, so just wanted
to kind of revisit that with you,
see how you felt about it,
if you'd be comfortable with, you know,
letting us take them and treat them,
you know, just kind of wanted to see.
Sure, I'd like to have 'em back,
I mean,
I could always put them
separately if I have to,
-it's not a problem.
-Yeah, yeah.
And, yeah,
and we understand that,
they're very dear to you.
-We love ours, you know.
-I know.
We love our turkeys, too,
we understand how special they are.
Oh, sure, I mean,
'cause I raised them from,
-they were hatched here.
-Yeah, yeah, and they're--
I have no problem treating them,
and bringing them back, no problem.
Yeah, so, I mean,
if you're comfortable with that,
you know, we have the carriers today,
and we could take them with us today.
I don't mind.
And then, you know,
get that going, and, you know, that--
All right, sure, as long as
they come back, no problem.
Yeah, so I'm gonna put down
the total number of ducks,
and then I'm also gonna
put down two...
-turkeys.
-Okay.
-Right?
-Yeah.
-Okay, great, okay, okay.
-Got it.
[Nicole] It's okay, ladies.
[Kathy] It's okay.
[Nicole] It's okay,
she's coming, she's coming.
[Kathy] You guys,
I'll see you back a couple of weeks.
You know, hopefully a couple of weeks.
I'll come back.
Come on in, it's okay,
it's your girl, get in with the girl.
Get in.
Get in.
You'll be okay, yes, you'll be good.
I know,
I'll see you guys again soon, okay?
Yes, I will.
[slow music]
[inaudible]
Okay.
Oh, they're beautiful.
[Nicole] Declan and Deirdre.
Hi.
Yeah, we're working
with this woman on...
We're helping her be less overwhelmed.
There you go.
[turkeys gobble]
[woman] You look like a unicorn,
little man.
[Nicole] They look good considering
the conditions they were living in.
[woman] Yeah.
[Nicole] Right?
So what do you think, I know,
big changes today, huh?
-Yeah.
-[turkey gobbles]
It was a challenge for her
to surrender the turkeys.
She was very attached to the turkeys
and we had to speak with her
about the health risks
of them remaining there.
I don't think she fully knew
what she was signing...
[slow music]
when she signed those papers.
I felt awkward about it.
I felt awkward about taking them away,
knowing how attached she was to them.
I called her to
ask about Declan and Deirdre,
yeah, but she hasn't gotten back.
I got to give her
actually a call back, so,
and see what's up with that one,
but, yeah, I kind of miss them
because usually they're outside
around this time of year,
roaming around the yard here.
And I'm, like, it's just, two years
they've been hanging out here,
so I kind of miss 'em.
[interviewer] But Nicole also
had you sign paperwork--
Yeah, but the deal was
to have them treated,
I didn't really say they could keep them,
so, that was...
If you're gonna lie to me,
don't even come back again, really,
'cause they knew that was for treatment.
I said, for treatment, fine,
I did not say you could keep them, so.
And I made that clear,
and if they want to lie,
then it's no deal, that's it, for real.
They knew that, so what,
if they want to lie to me,
I'm done with them, for real.
That would piss me off beyond words,
and that's true.
I didn't say... I said for treatment
and I didn't say you could keep them.
So, no, I did not. If they pull that crap,
I will never trust them again,
any of them.
So yeah, there's a problem there.
Yeah, and I would say, yeah.
-[rooster crows]
-I agree there.
But no, it's a problem there,
so yeah, I will fight for them.
I did not say they could keep my turkeys.
No, definitely not.
-[rooster crows]
-Definitely not.
I will find out
when they're coming back, for real,
because no, no, they're mine.
[Elana] Kathy's very
reluctant to engage with us,
but I don't think she knows
how to properly
care for these animals.
And I'm very concerned about that,
but we've been getting calls from Gary,
and he is anxious to
have the animals removed.
[birds chirp]
There's a lot,
we have a lot of clay,
and with the clay, it holds the moisture.
It's nice and cool back here, right?
[Kathy] It's peaceful, though, I love it.
Here we go, I found one, there we go.
He's in the rain,
I used to find them in the road,
I put them on the side of the road.
A little red eft, they're cool.
And they're aquatic,
they live in the water for a while,
so this is all wetlands
around here. Yes, it is.
They're kind of neat. Hey, you.
When I see the ducks around,
'cause they'll come out on the front lawn,
I move 'em,
because they'll probably eat 'em,
which, it wouldn't hurt them,
but it would hurt these guys.
I love these little boogers.
[slow music]
-[rooster crows]
-[geese honk]
[Gary] I'm just tired of it,
you know? It's like,
you should live in a clean house,
in a clean house,
your house should be left alone,
you shouldn't mess with your house,
and even outside,
it should look the right way.
And she just goes too far, she takes it...
She goes too... You know.
You're isolated,
she's not out and about enough
to be around enough people.
Another reason she does it
is to keep people away,
she doesn't really want
a lot of people around, so.
-[slow music]
-[ducks quack]
You know, you want to
get old with someone,
which, you look at life
through rose-colored lenses,
and a lot of times it's not like that,
it's not really like that.
You want to see things
in a more positive way,
and a light,
but it's not always like that.
Yeah, but that's the way it is.
That's the way it is.
[indistinct talking]
[geese honk]
[ducks quack]
No, I was lied to, I was lied to,
totally out-and-out lied to,
and there's no way around lied to,
there's no way around lied to, no, no way.
No, I signed the ducks over, yes,
and I said the turkeys,
they're coming back, and they said yes.
I wrote a letter to the sanctuary
and I never got a response back,
that's crap, pardon my... It's crap.
You might mean well, but that's...
Trust to me is everything, okay?
Even if you're trying to
do good to animals,
how would you like that,
if they took your...
I would never give those two away, ever.
I was lied to about that.
He spoke to you guys,
I didn't, this time.
I didn't even know you were coming today.
[Sheila] Oh, Elana, she said--
No, he didn't...
I was not spoken to,
they spoke to him.
-[roosters crow]
-[geese honk]
She's pretty angry.
I thought as soon as she sees me,
she's gonna mention the turkeys.
[Ted] How do you negotiate that?
Can't.
Cause you know what happened, don't you?
[Ted] I know.
I am lying to her,
I feel bad, but...
[Ted] Well, come on, it's not for...
-It's not for your own benefit.
-No, exactly.
If you're trying
to help these birds,
you have to do what you have to do.
[Kathy] 'Cause people
will lie all the time.
I have no time for that crap.
The world wants to lie,
but later, that's your problem,
not mine, isn't it?
-[radio blares music]
-[geese honk]
[Ted] Hmm, hmm, hmm,
I'm trying to think of other angles to--
I mean, he must...
This is living in hell, really.
[Ted] I just want to talk to Gary.
-[rooster crows]
-[radio blares music]
[Allie] How do we get him up?
He's got the radio blaring
to drown this out so that he can sleep.
-See if we can wake him up.
-[roosters crows]
[phone rings]
[Ted] Is there anything we can work out
to make you feel more comfortable?
I've been lied to so much,
you have no idea, it's--
I don't, that's why I'm asking--
I know, yeah, I know,
but I have nothing against you,
but I have been lied to, like, whatever,
you know, with this smile
on their face,
and I just don't... You know what I mean?
Trust kind of goes, when it comes
to something important like this,
it means something to me,
you know what I mean?
If it's something like a knick-knack,
"Oh, you can take that,
I don't care about that stuff."
But if it's something important,
yeah, I do care,
-you're damn right.
-[phone rings]
[answering machine]
This mailbox is unable
to accept any more messages at this time.
There's a chance we may have
to leave empty-handed
-And come back again.
-[music blares]
[rooster crows]
-[door creaks]
-Here we go.
[Gary] They have to go.
They gotta go.
[indistinct talking]
They have to go, they've gotta go.
Are you okay with us taking them?
Yes, it's just me...
I can't do this, it's just me and her,
-there's nobody else.
-Come over here for a minute.
[Kathy] You don't give a shit,
really, you just don't give a shit.
[indistinct talking]
No, they have to go, because it--
Yeah, but you have to help...
How can we help you help us
to make that happen?
'Cause right now,
she doesn't want us to take anybody.
And even though you're husband and wife,
you can't sign the waiver,
she has to say to sign it,
'cause if you don't, then it gets--
[Allie] Legally.
Legally, it gets complicated,
if you can persuade her--
No, come on, come on,
come on, come on,
let's see what's she's doing.
This is stupid.
[Ted] Oh, she locked the door.
[Gary] She locked the door.
[Ted] You know what, I don't
know if this is gonna be--
[Gary] Come on, open the door.
[Kathy] I'm not opening shit.
No, open the door now.
-[Kathy mumbles]
-Uh-uh.
[Sheila] We managed to get her husband
out of the house,
but she went in the house,
and locked herself in.
You better surrender 'em,
you better do what they tell you,
because they're right, they're right.
Open the door.
You want to go through the back door?
We'll go through the back door, come on.
[music blares]
[inaudible]
[Sheila] Oh, my word.
-[ducks quack]
-[chickens clucking]
[Ted] This situation,
they're in their own gas all day long.
That piss and shit
that they're sitting in right now,
they're in their own feces, you can't--
-It's disgusting.
-You can smell it.
Look at her talking,
she thinks this is okay.
I wanna override her.
I wanna override her.
I want to be able to--
This is stupid, look at this.
Who's gonna clean this?
[Ted] Hey, Kathy, you in here?
[Kathy] Yes.
[Ted] Can I talk to you for a minute?
[Kathy] Yeah, you can, but--
[indistinct talking]
[Ted] Trust in this world
is super hard to come by.
[Kathy] Yeah, I know that--
[Ted] My moral code,
I wouldn't tell you,
"This is what's going to happen"
and then something else happens
[Kathy] Okay, well, I appreciate that.
[Ted] I honestly think
you're doing a fantastic job.
[Kathy] I'm trying, because it's just me.
[Sheila] This is the first time
we got in the house,
Ted has just been
a negotiator from heaven,
and he's just trying to see
if there's anything we can do
to get even a few birds away.
Kathy needs help,
and her husband also needs help.
They need to work out their own issues,
but we need to get these birds out.
And what we've seen,
it's very difficult to leave here.
I'm just asking for somebody official
to be able to file a report,
or see the information,
and get these birds out
of that house and off this property.
Basically, we need to get all of them.
-27th.
-All right, I was right.
-I thought so.
-You're on it.
Don't lose a day, okay.
8-27-12. I'm gonna say,
I,
Theodore... I'm Theodore, by the way.
-Okay.
-Not just Ted.
Donation of birds...
Promise to keep...
Let's see...
-Informed?
-[Kathy] Okay.
[Ted] And just sign there, all right?
-Done.
-Okay.
Got it, the main thing
that I want to make sure is that
you two stay apart from each other.
That's my point,
I don't want him anywhere near me.
I don't want him, either.
So do you want to wait
for me down by the cages?
-I'm good, I can wait.
-Okay, I'll go--
It doesn't matter,
I have to live in the same house with him.
[Ted] Okay, I got you, okay.
[rooster crows]
[slow music]
[Kathy] To me it makes sense.
I got one person
that wasn't a part of the whole,
you know, lie about my turkeys.
-[rooster crows]
-[ducks quack]
Because yeah, you know I love my birds,
I mean, there's no doubt about it.
People don't speak up
and they wonder why things are,
like, getting stomped,
and walked on left and right.
[Gary] Take them all,
take them all, I'm serious,
you can take them all.
Like, say you had,
two favorite dogs, and they said,
"Well, we're gonna bring 'em back,
and treat 'em, bring 'em back,"
would you trust 'em? There you go.
-[Sheila] Thank you, thank you.
-All right, no problem.
I know,
I'm sorry for all this stuff,
and thank you for giving us some.
And I've got some pictures on my computer
of the place they're going,
if you want to see it right now,
-or I'll send you some.
-[Kathy] Oh, no, you can just,
you can send it to me, that's okay.
Yeah, 'cause
Ted's got your email address?
[Kathy] Yes, he's got it,
no problem with that one.
-Right.
-Not a problem with that one.
Okay, so thanks very much
and I'll be in touch.
-This sounds good, all right.
-Yeah, thank you.
-All right, have a good day.
Yeah, thanks.
[Kathy] Ah, break time.
[Sheila] We managed to get
20 ducks from her,
and thanks for coming out.
-Yeah, I appreciate that, really.
-[Sheila] And just go, just go back,
and sleep, and be...
Are you going to work tonight?
-Yeah, midnight, yeah.
-Just rest, then, and I promise,
we'll let you know as soon as
anything else happens.
[Gary] Yeah.
See, there's a hawk,
or no, it's not,
but they think it's a hawk,
they'll scream.
It's like, warning.
[rooster crows]
[Sheila on phone]
Hi, Richard, it's Sheila.
I just wanted to give you
an update on what's happening.
The court issued a warrant
for 75% of the birds.
If you want to call me back.
[woman] Hey.
[man] Hey.
[investigator] Off the property.
-Off the property.
-[interviewer] Why?
[investigator] Off the property.
[interviewer] Why do I
have to get off the property?
[investigator] You are not to film
because I own this property right now.
[interviewer] You own this property?
[investigator] I'm in charge
of the search warrant,
you're not to be here.
That's in the memorandum
of the agreement.
[Sheila] Yes, I know,
I've been trying to call him, so.
[Kathy] Well, if he can't,
call me later, all right?
[interviewer] If Kathy allows me
to be here, I can't--
[investigator] No,
right now, I own this property.
If she locks the door,
I would break the door to get in.
[Kathy] But don't go, all right? Don't go.
[investigator] The only photographs
are gonna be the ones I take,
and they're for evidence.
-[chickens clucking]
-[camera shutter clicks]
[newscaster] Nearly 100 birds
had to be removed
from an Ulster County
home after the SPCA says
they were living in filthy conditions.
Humane law investigator seizing 95 ducks,
geese, and chickens
from a house in Wawarsing.
The SPCA says the birds' owner,
Kathy Murphy,
had a strong attachment to them,
but couldn't care for them properly.
This is a prime example
of the hoarding phenomenon.
[rooster crows]
[camera shutter clicks]
Generally, we at the Ulster County SPCA
have dealt with, you know,
cat hoarders, dog hoarders.
This is honestly the first duck
or chicken hoarder I've come across.
[ducks quack]
-Well, they just showed up here--
-[Gary mumbles]
No, they didn't. Yeah, you know what,
you better like court,
the next one's gonna be divorce court.
It will be divorce court for fucking sure.
No, you're not even...
You really don't like the animals at all,
it's really not okay.
He knew, he fucking knew,
but here's papers here and shit.
No, 'cause these people
are all fucking related,
if you want to know, this small town shit,
so, you know.
Yeah, he gave me this shit here,
so I gotta go on, what is it,
the fifth of October, I think it is.
So let's see how good the judge is,
hopefully he's honorable, okay, really.
I don't desert my animals.
Even if I had one,
I wouldn't desert them.
Never, Richard, never.
I'm here for these guys
and he knows that,
and he's jealous
of my fucking animals, jealous,
'cause he knows that
I would choose them over him.
In the back, it was all wetlands,
I've sank up to mud in--
And me, I work back there,
not you, not you.
[Kathy] Mud exists, Gary.
[Gary] You didn't do no work back there.
[Kathy] And, you know what?
You'll still have fucking mud
no matter what.
[Gary] I've had to do everything
for 25 years,
with zero help from you,
do you understand?
-[Kathy] Enough fucking whatever.
-[door slams]
Come on, pure common sense
would tell you,
you don't mess with your house.
Those people actually, they're actually,
you know, they're doing you a favor.
You can't have your own daughter back here
to even visit.
I'm just tired of it.
I'm tired of it.
I gotta go to the doctor's tomorrow
for my diabetes,
and I'm not Superman,
I'm supposed to be, like, oh...
I'm supposed to be some
Superman here, I'm not.
I just want to, like, go to sleep,
and wake up,
and say it was just a bad dream,
like a bad dream, yeah,
that's what I want.
[slow piano music]
[duck quacks]
I don't even know where
the court building 'cause I... Really?
[Judge] The accused, Kathleen Murphy,
defendant in this action,
charged for Acts of Cruelty
to said poultry animals...
6 geese, 44 chickens, 45 ducks.
What does your client plead?
[William] My client pleads not guilty,
Your Honor.
Leave the lady alone.
It's her own property,
she's raising animals,
she takes care of them,
they're her pets.
What they're saying is cruelty,
punishable by imprisonment
for not more than a year,
or by a fine of not more than $1,000,
or by both.
-So it's gonna be a battle royale.
-Yes. Ready for that one.
The chickens, the ducks and the geese,
versus the state of New York.
-I'm ready.
-Versus the district attorney--
[Kathy] Versus A-holes in general--
And basically what has happened is--
My husband hates them,
and that's a big part of it,
yes, it is, oh, it definitely is.
You take better care
of these animals than--
[Kathy] I take care...
When they're sick, I bring 'em in,
-I hold 'em--
-Than Colonel--
[Kathy] Sanders, oh,
they abuse 'em, then they eat 'em,
they kick them around, then they eat 'em.
[William] And Tyson.
Oh, Tyson, McDonalds and crap,
get real.
That's what the people do,
they mostly eat the roosters.
[indistinct talking]
[William] Your Honor,
I am assisting her pro bono.
I ask that these charges be dismissed,
and that the geese, the chickens
and the ducks be returned to her.
[prosecutor] How many of them
does she want back?
[William] Every one of them.
The other question is this.
Now, you have a car, I take it?
-[Kathy] No, a car, I don't drive.
-How'd you get down here?
[Kathy] Gary dropped me off.
-Gary?
-[Kathy] My husband.
Is he here?
-All right, where's the red car?
-[William] Is he here?
[Kathy] I don't know.
No, I'm looking for a red car.
I'm looking, I'm looking, I'm looking.
Kathy, if I took you home,
would your husband not know
where you are?
[Kathy] That's my point,
but I'm looking for a red car--
Otherwise, I'll leave you here,
and I'll go back to the office.
That's what I mean,
is do you see a red car?
Some people got to make
a living as a lawyer.
I know you do.
Let me just check, I don't see a red car.
Have a good day, drive safe, okay?
[William] Well, if you stand
at the very end,
then you'll get the impression
of a large law office here,
then you can walk in.
[Amanda] Hold on a minute.
[William] On the left is Amanda,
is Michelle, who's been with me
for 30-plus years.
How many years, Michelle?
[Michelle] Bill, I don't know
what you're doing.
[William] Whatever, there's Amanda--
[Amanda] I'm not going
to be on film, Bill.
[William] They handle the legal work
and the tax work,
and come on in, I'll show you.
[indistinct talking]
[Amanda] Hold on a minute. Bill?
What makes
a tax and loan office unique.
-Yes, Amanda?
-A client is on the phone for you.
Okay, tell 'em
I'll be right there.
[indistinct talking]
And in a country law office,
I have a wood stove.
It supplements the heat,
and this is what a country lawyer does,
throw some logs in the fire.
Over here, I have my tax office.
A little messy,
but I'm trying to catch up,
especially when you have
to run to court.
In the summer,
we have the Grahamsville Fair,
every year for 118 years,
maybe a few more now,
'cause this is an old poster.
[Amanda over phone] Excuse me, Bill.
[William] Yes, oh.
[Amanda] Your client is still waiting.
[William] Sorry, sorry, sorry.
William Brenner here, how do you do?
She's an indoor duck.
Maybe go, I guess keep going.
I've known him
for a couple years, actually,
six years maybe, yeah.
He happened to drive by one day,
looking for chickens.
I had no chickens at that point,
so he bought a couple of ducks instead.
But yeah, he's a good guy.
-Would you like some coffee?
-Sounds good.
[William] Yeah, go through 'em,
and write Kathy's chickens.
[Kathy] Okay.
[William] Mr. Saunders, Sheila,
how can this matter be resolved?
My understanding was that
for you to grant us permission
to give them away,
we had to return certain birds to Kathy.
Only a few, and maybe 15 tops.
-I mean that's negotiable.
-[William] 15 tops.
[Kathy] Especially Pogo, that's...
I raised her from, like, this...
When she was--
Pogo's got the cancer,
so Pogo's one that
wouldn't be returned, but...
[indistinct talking]
She lived in the house with me.
[William] Pogo's negotiable, fair enough?
Pogo's not negotiable
on our end, but...
[indistinct talking]
So the ones you have,
you just want 10 to 15 birds back,
-are you--
-I have ample room--
Sheila, is this agreeable to you?
We want them to have water,
that's the most important thing
for the geese and the ducks.
Now, I'm not sure if that's possible
on the property that I've seen.
The additional problem is
the potential for breeding.
We intentionally left only males
to reduce inadvertent breeding because,
forgive me,
Kathy, Mr. Brenner,
but I'm not convinced of...
[Kathy] Well, that's your opinion,
I have mine--
-...your monitoring ability.
-[indistinct talking]
[William] Of what?
Her monitoring
ability of the situation.
Kathy, can you
provide some kind of a pond,
like, getting a hole, dig a hole--
You don't even need a pond,
really, honestly,
you get a big kiddie pool,
and if I get the hose,
just whoopee doo, not a big deal.
Why has it not been
done up until this point?
'Cause it's only me,
'cause Gary's a lazy whatever--
[William] Excuse me, Sheila--
Nobody's made even
a little hole to make a pond.
[Kathy] Well, I have no ducks
to make a pond for.
-[Sheila] You did then, you had--
-[indistinct talking]
[William] Hold it, hold it.
I'm not making,
I just want to make it--
It's just a statement of fact,
the ducks didn't have access to water,
and nothing's been done about it.
These are the ones
that I am really fond of,
and I will never give them up for...
Not... I'd rather die than
give them up, put it that way.
[William] Okay, we'll bring it to a jury.
[geese honk]
[Sheila] I just thought
it would be simpler than this.
We have nearly 80 ducks to place.
I'm anxious for these ducks
to have a permanent home
-with a proper pond.
-[ducks quack]
[geese honking]
Looking better, yeah.
All right, you ate that.
[slow music]
[rooster crows]
They got their own place.
Feed 'em, give 'em water,
they're very happy.
[Jenny] Normally, we would
adopt these animals out
to approved adoption homes,
so the expenses continue to mount.
[rooster crows]
[ducks quack]
Kathy has a very unruly lawyer
who's extending this case
as long as he can,
so we have to get the word out there
that this case is happening.
[upbeat music]
[announcer] From ABC News,
live from New York,
this is Good Morning America.
We've got some video this morning
that is actually really quite moving.
There are these ducks,
more than 100 of them,
that were rescued from a hoarder.
These ducks were living
in terrible conditions,
it was dirty, they didn't have
access to veterinary care,
they didn't see sunlight.
And now, they're being introduced
to the water for the very first time.
It takes a while to get 'em in,
but look at what happens
when they finally get them in the water.
They love it.
[Jane] Joining me now, my dear friend
and animal advocate,
co-founder of
the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary.
Jenny, you are one of my heroes.
You got a tip, and then you moved in.
We went to her and asked for, you know,
an amicable release.
Her intentions were good,
but the animals were living in
deplorable conditions,
in a fecal stew of mud and filth.
[Jane] People really are
starting to see now
that these animals have feelings.
They can also suffer
from indescribable pain,
sadness, loneliness, isolation.
[Gary on phone] This is not cool at all.
The press and all that,
I don't like it.
'Cause it's negative attention drawn here.
I'm not gonna get blamed
for something I didn't do.
I didn't do this, she did this.
It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting.
The whole thing is appalling.
I know this township, I grew up here,
and she's tarnishing
my family's last name.
My family is pissed.
That's no Murphy, that's not my family.
[indistinct talking]
[indistinct talking]
You know, she had one job to do,
from the day I married her,
to be a good housewife,
to keep the mobile home kind of clean,
and she failed miserably.
You can't have birds in your... Come on,
you can't have birds in your house.
[Kathy and Gary yelling]
[yelling continues]
[Kathy] I don't care what he fucking says.
'Cause he blames everything,
don't blame the animals,
don't blame anything else but yourself.
We do not belong together at all.
People have problems or whatever,
they go, they get through 'em somehow.
No one's perfect.
Are you perfect, Gary?
No, I'm fucking not, I'm not perfect,
I'm never gonna be perfect, get over it.
But, you know, whatever.
You know, it just, like,
he doesn't handle pressure.
I don't know what his problem is,
it ain't mine,
it's not my problem.
He doesn't want to deal with it,
I can't help him.
I like it here, I'm good here.
No matter what,
you have to like yourself, you have
to be happy with who you are,
you know, we go through bad times,
but you know what, Gary,
he's in like a total bad time for years,
and I can't help you.
[interviewer] Are you happy right now?
Yeah, I like this time of year,
I mean, this is great, I mean, outside,
I'm not freezing my butt off,
there's no snow here.
Yay. Yeah, I'm still trying to
wake up, mind you,
but I look like crap,
but that's all right.
But yeah, I'm pretty happy usually,
I do all my craftwork.
I'm online again, yay,
and just hanging with the guys.
They're good.
They have water, they have food,
they're good for now, you know.
I'm good.
I think we sometimes over-analyze things,
get over it, well,
we're just animals, really.
Basically, we're just bigger,
more intelligent animals.
Debatable sometimes
more intelligent, but whatever.
You know, it's instinct, I think.
We over-analyze things. Why? I don't know.
They need to get a life or some crap,
I don't know.
But yeah, yeah, we're animals,
get over it.
You know, really,
he doesn't want to hear that.
So yeah, well, look what we did
to the earth in general.
Yeah, we're so intelligent. Look at it,
look at the mess we're in. Get over it.
Animals don't do crap to people,
like what we do to each other.
They don't do that crap,
you know what I mean?
They don't, like,
kill for money and crap like we do.
It's stupid shit, really.
Well, religion, it's...
I don't get that crap.
You know, they kill to eat,
to defend their young or whatever.
You know, really, I don't think...
Maybe some animals kill for sport,
I don't know,
but in general, I think they don't
do the crap we do to each other.
But, yeah.
Like, he doesn't want to hear any of that,
it's like, whatever.
But we're so superior, Gary, are we?
Oh, that's your opinion, good.
Oh, yeah, some of us are good,
some of us are not.
It's common sense, Gary, you know?
The reason why I defend animals,
because I'm their guardian,
I'm watching out for them.
'Cause you don't give a crap,
that's your option, good for you.
You know, he doesn't give a crap,
he doesn't care about much of anything.
Your issue, go deal with it.
I don't know what to tell you, Gary.
I can't make you happy.
[slow music]
[Judge] Any motions
before we pick the jury?
[investigator] The People are requesting
a psychiatric evaluation.
[Judge] Of whom?
[investigator] Of Mrs. Murphy.
[William] Your Honor, this is--
[investigator] You know, there's a malady
known as animal hoarding.
[William] Oh, Your Honor.
[investigator] The reason we're asking
isn't to stigmatize the defendant here,
it's to maybe expose to us
whether or not there's real intent here
to hurt these animals,
or whether or not it's symptomatic.
[William] Your Honor,
we're talking overcrowding.
I have not presented
counter absurd psychological evaluations
of the people who took these chickens.
[Judge] I would think that if I was in
a similar situation as Mrs. Murphy,
I would be somewhat agitated
and so I ain't doing it.
[gavel bangs]
[slow music]
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt's
a difficult burden to meet,
but I thought during jury selection
that I was able to select six jurors,
two alternates, that cared about animals,
viewed them equally
as a human being should be viewed.
But obviously, jury verdicts
can go either way.
[slow piano music]
[William] Now, we picked a very fair jury.
[Kathy] I think so.
I'm happy with the people we chose.
[William] But the judge said
it quite succinctly,
he said the facts of
this case are subjective.
You want me to give a subpoena
to your husband?
[Kathy] What do you think, um...
What if we just give it to him
and see how he reacts to it?
I mean, is that possible?
[William] I'm not worried
about his reaction,
I'm worried about what he will say.
I know, 'cause he--
He'll say he hates chickens,
except fried,
but will he say that there's overcrowding?
Probably will because he lives with them,
chickens sleep on his head.
No, they sleep on my head,
not his head.
But actually, no,
they don't sleep on my head.
No, my point is, he doesn't like them,
you know. I don't know.
He hates them actually, but whatever.
Well, I'm gonna let you
get up there and talk.
Yeah, no problem.
I don't give up.
That looks great.
People usually eat them,
and I don't get it,
I would never eat them,
hence veggie burgers,
no meat for me anymore, that's it.
-[William] Why?
-I just don't eat meat anymore.
Working on dairy,
getting the fake cheese, I'm good.
-[William] Kathy?
-Yep?
I would rather you eat meat
than not eat at all.
Oh, I eat veggies, rice, pasta.
-Good.
-I'm good. Quinoa.
[William] We've got a big day tomorrow.
-[Judge] Counsel,
-[indistinct talking]
Mr. Brenner.
[William] Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury,
Kathy Murphy has
a special love and affection for animals,
and she raised them the best she could.
She orders feed by the truckload.
When chickens get sick,
she finds out what medicine they need
and she takes care of them.
The proof will show
that there is no reason
to take them away.
Their home was with Kathy.
[Paul] Investigator Fix,
what were the conditions like
on the day of the search warrant?
[Investigator Fix] Terrible overcrowding
of the animals,
food scattered all over,
and being covered with feces,
little or no water.
What water there was,
it was extremely filthy.
[William] Ms. Murphy, is there
anything in these pictures
that you wish to comment?
What is this here?
[Kathy] Rain, rainwater, yeah.
It was muddy that day,
and they play in it.
[Investigator Fix]
There was fecal material on couches,
and all over the house.
[Kathy] Didn't get to that yet, okay?
[William] And so you were
in the process of cleaning?
[Kathy] Yes.
[Investigator Fix] I had
a very difficult time
breathing in there because of it.
[William] Okay, tell us about
this poor little molting chicken here.
[indistinct talking]
[Paul] Diseases such as leg mites.
[Kathy] If you can save them,
I'm gonna save them, or at least try.
[Paul] Very painful conditions
to live with.
[Investigator Fix]
Some had bad looking eyes.
[Paul] Malnutrition.
[Investigator Fix] Broken off.
[Paul] Fecal matter and mud in the water.
[Kathy] I love my birds,
there's no doubt about that.
You can ask any of my neighbors,
I love my birds.
[William] Please, ladies and gentlemen,
Kathy has a heart as big as
any animal lover there is,
and she hasn't got
a mean bone in her body.
She's just trying
to do the right thing
for a chicken, and the ducks,
and the geese.
[Judge] Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
for the charges of Cruelty to Animals,
have you reached a verdict?
[Juror] Yes, we the jury
find the defendant guilty.
[Judge] Juror number one,
is that your verdict?
[Juror 1] Yes.
[Judge] Juror number two?
[Juror 2] Yes.
[Judge] Juror number three?
[Juror 3] Hell yes.
[Judge] Juror number four?
[Kathy] Bunch of sheep is what they are.
Of course they're all in cahoots,
get real.
[indistinct talking]
[Sheila] I just thought
you'd like to know.
[interviewer] How do you feel about it?
-I don't...
-[indistinct talking]
I'm relieved, I feel sad
'cause we...
Somebody's... You know.
I don't know.
[indistinct talking]
I think it was kind of
rushed through, I kind of do.
And yes, I think I was stomped on,
and I'm not ever, ever giving up.
No, I'm not.
But, no I'm not giving up.
[interviewer] So you didn't
trust the veterinarians?
No, no, I don't.
Experts disagree on everything
all the time.
Starving chickens, where's their pictures,
where's their big pictures?
That's bullshit.
Bullshit, they were all fed.
They were all in good shape.
And they didn't know
what they're talking about at all.
You don't need a pond,
that's bullshit, total bullshit.
I've got shit to fucking do.
[Sheila] Oh, dear, it's okay, wee one.
It's okay.
[sighs]
Has she got a lot in her craw?
'Cause if we give her some oil,
it might help loosen it up a bit.
Try it, good girl.
There you go.
[man] There you go, it's delicious.
[Sheila] Very nice.
[man] That's the first thing
I thought, too.
[Sheila] A little pillow.
Sorry.
[slow music]
I want Kathy to live
the life that she would...
That she would like to live.
I want the best for her, as well.
'Cause I know how difficult it can be.
[man] And this is the group
that was fairly bonded,
if I remember correctly.
[ducks quack]
[Sheila] Good boy, okay.
Bye, Tom.
[duck quacks]
[Sheila] I'm leaving the sanctuary.
I'm going home.
These birds have taken
their toll on everybody.
[slow music]
[goats bleating]
Some things are easier
to let go of than others.
[woman] Sheila!
I'm sorry,
I'll just be a minute, I'll be back.
[exhales heavily]
I never thought, back in 1987,
when we got married,
I never thought this would happen.
'Cause I thought it was for life,
you know, the whole thing, and...
Man, it's, uh... Divorce sucks.
Terrible, terrible thing, man, terrible.
You don't want to get divorced
unless you have to,
but it was a mess.
Oh, my God, it was a mess.
Thank God I'm out of there.
Thank God I'm out of there.
It was so embarrassing.
People at work knew.
What choice did I have?
I'm looking out for our own best interest,
hers and mine.
If something happens to her,
I'm not responsible.
Either way, you know what I mean?
I'm not responsible for her,
and she's not for me.
I've got diabetes,
she's mentally ill, come on, now.
So, that's why I'm doing it.
I didn't want to, no, no, no, no, no.
I thought for sure I was
doing the right thing,
but I worry about her,
I still worry about her.
[slow music]
I thought she would be okay,
but the birds
are destroying that house.
She's in the middle of nowhere,
you know?
And I'm not there.
[chickens clucking]
[indistinct talking]
[Kathy] I wish him the best,
but we just don't,
we can never be together again, never.
Be happy, what... He's not happy,
you know what I mean?
I'm happy, not all the time,
that's not, that's not possible,
but whatever, mostly happy, yeah.
[slow piano music]
Things broke down, the heater broke,
the water, you know, broke.
I haven't had running water
for three months, maybe.
I get around that,
I'm pretty, you know...
I'm pretty durable, I can get around that.
There we go, I'm ready.
Feels good, all good.
[rooster crows]
Ah, you can have water, yes.
That's Ella.
Hi, Ella.
She was hiding in my house
when they took them.
She started laying in early spring.
Come on now, you want to eat out here?
I'll give you that one.
They're happy, good,
another thing done.
[answering machine] Monday, 7:54 a.m.
[Gary] Hey, it's only me, are you there?
Pick up if you're there.
I was numb today.
It was not good. It was not good.
[phone rings]
[Kathy] Hello, yeah, what happened?
You're not feeling good?
Damn, you're throwing up,
what's the... Damn. What?
You might have, I have no idea,
but I know you gotta worry,
worry about everything
in the galaxy, that's for sure.
Well, all right,
all right, just calm down.
I'll call you back
'cause there's bad reception.
I've gotta call you back
from a better reception, okay?
'Cause you're cutting in and out,
so it's hard to catch
the whole thing, all right?
I'll call him back in a bit,
let him calm down a bit.
He's fine, he'll be fine.
He usually calls me sometimes
when he doesn't feel good.
He'll be all right
or I would call somebody else,
he'll be fine, but yeah, he'll be fine.
[Gary] Let's go in the back.
My keys, where the hell are my keys, man?
Oh, God.
I can't find my keys.
Oh, shit.
Where the fuck are my keys?
Man, my feet are so swollen.
Man, my feet.
Oh, man.
[phone rings]
-Hello?
-[Kathy] Hi, it's only me.
Hey, what's up?
[Kathy] Did you go to the doctor today?
I would have went,
but my feet's been bothering me, so.
Okay, I was worried about you.
I'll call you back tomorrow
morning or whatever.
Okay, I'll talk to you later.
[Kathy] Okay, I'll speak to you
tomorrow, okay?
Yeah, okay, all right, bye.
-[phone beeps]
-Yeah, I worry about her, but, you know.
You still care about her,
you know what I mean?
Even after all these years.
[slow music]
[Kathy] You'll be all right.
You'll make your appointment.
ShopRite awaits me.
'Cause I'll come down again,
so if you can write that,
I'll come down again to cash it, okay?
'Cause I need you to put it in my account
so I can actually go shopping with it.
Yeah, those full moon parties were fun.
They were... The moon,
we'd be up all night long.
[Kathy] It was pretty--
Cranking, everyone
would be dancing and stuff.
[Kathy] Yeah, it was fun, the bonfire--
It was, that was the good old days.
All right, you kissing her hand?
[Kathy] Yeah, you're kissing, yeah.
You're a good boy,
did you clean mommy's hand?
[Gary] It's a big baby, huh?
It's a baby, huh?
It's like sandpaper. [laughs]
Well, I'm gonna go back
to Graham-cracker-ville,
Graham-cracker-ville. [laughs]
[Kathy] Well, let me know
when you're coming over again, okay?
[Gary] Yeah, all right--
It's gonna rain,
what time do you have to--
Friday, I gotta go back to the dentist's.
[Kathy] You got
everything you need, right?
You have food, you have... You're good.
Drive safely, okay?
Take your time, you'll be fine.
[Gary] Back to Graham-cracker-ville.
[Kathy] You'll be fine.
Call me, all right?
Let me know when you're actually--
I want to go to the fountain of youth.
[Kathy] Yeah, we know.
I want to get young again.
[Kathy] Haven't found that one yet.
Let's go back the other direction.
[Kathy] Just drive safe,
okay, take your time.
Yeah, all right.
[Kathy] He's saying goodbye to you,
by the way, there you go.
Okay, okey-doke.
[Kathy] Okay, I'll see you next time,
all right?
-All right, okay.
-Call me, all right?
[Gary] Yeah.
[rooster crows]
[Kathy] Me and Gary always had
a lot of fun, you know?
Deena.
Gary and I with some kittens, see,
we always had cats around.
And look at that, I love it.
Always liked to dance
and have a good time.
[Gary] Hey, it's only me, you there?
I was just wondering
if you want to go to Ricke Len's,
maybe we'll get some dinner,
maybe we'll go to Walmart.
Call me back, all right?
I haven't been to Ricke Len's in a while,
I'm kind of aching to go there.
They got really good food,
it's always packed,
something to do tonight.
[Kathy] Hi, it's Kathy calling you back.
I have an idea, give me
a call back by tonight or tomorrow,
speak to you soon, have a good night.
[Gary] Hey, it's only me, you there?
It was a beautiful day,
I was out in the backyard for a while.
All right, I'll talk to you later.
[slow music]
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat music]
Do you remember
the 21st night of September?
Love was changing
the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day...
[inaudible]
[concert music drowns out]
[Gary] As you get older,
you gotta have each other's backs.
You gotta have each other's backs.
I've got your back, and you've got mine.
Because the outside don't really care.
[man] We love you!
-[audience cheering]
-[slow music]
[Kathy] Okay, I'll see you
next time, all right?
[Gary] All right, okay.
[Kathy] Call me, all right?
[Gary] Yeah.
[chickens clucking]
[Kathy] Why are you doing that?
You don't want that.
My pinecones.
[answering machine] Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
[Gary] Hey, it's only me, are you there?
I'm back in the hospital, in Harris...
Uh, room 201.
I wasn't feeling good, so...
they took me in.
I don't know how many days
I'm gonna be here,
hopefully not too many, but.
I keep losing my equilibrium,
and that's what's messing me up.
All right, I'll talk to you later,
okay, bye.
[slow music]
[answering machine] Thursday, 8:50 p.m.
[on phone] Hello,
this is Pastor Michael Sparrow,
I am calling for Kathleen,
I was contacted by...
[slow music]
[rooster crows]
[Kathy] We had plans
on getting together,
watch movies, whatever, spend the night.
So it's kind of weird,
'cause I keep expecting his car
to be driving up
'cause we'd always see each other,
and talk on the phone.
But it's kind of a whole different,
you know what I mean, mindset, really.
Same with Deena, too, you know,
she expects, like, phone calls,
it's kind of weird, you know?
It hasn't fully sunk in yet,
really, but it will.
It takes time, they say,
but okay, I don't know,
I guess it takes time,
that's all I can tell you.
[chicken clucking]
[rooster crows]
Well, yeah, they need me,
they rely on me,
so I can't let them down either,
you know what I mean?
I get up in the morning,
and I know I gotta feed them,
and take care of them,
it keeps me going,
you know, I can't just sit.
I can't think and sit
and overthink things,
you know what I mean? It's good.
[slow piano music]
[on phone] Hey, Kath, it's Pat,
are you there?
I hope all is well.
[Susan] Hi, Kathy, Susan,
I wanted to talk to you,
if you'd like to go shopping.
[woman] Kathy, it's your neighbors.
[man] You have no heat, no running water,
you know, we worry about you.
[William] Hi, Kathy,
this is William Brenner.
[Laraine] Hi, it's Laraine.
[Michelle] Hi, it's Michelle.
[Deena] Oh, hey, Mom, it's me.
Um, just thought I'd give you a call,
I just wanted to let you know that
I love you.
I love you.
[slow music]
[indistinct talking]
[Kathy] You can pet her.
[ducks quack]
I don't need it, don't need it.
You can visit the past,
but you can't live in it.
Gary used to kind of get stuck in it,
you know what I mean, at times.
You can't do that.
You have memories, but you can't
just say I'm stuck in that rut,
you know what I mean?
Whether it's good or bad,
you can't stay stuck in that
little time warp.
It's like a time warp, really.
People, they lose today,
'cause, like, they're worried.
Keep living in the past,
you know, they lose tomorrow, too, really.
Do it now, 'cause, like,
you'll regret if you don't do it,
you know, do it.
Gonna make it nice again.
[slow music]
Yeah, I'd like to get these in there
so she can take the rest out.
It's gonna be good,
that building's gonna be a chicken house
when I'm done with it, yeah.
[Dave] So we can get the birds in here.
I want to make sure
those eaves in here are covered,
see in here, I mean, it's underneath,
there's no holes in there,
'cause they can get out, too,
the little ones can get out of that.
They'll be safe.
Hi, Kath, everything's beginning
to look real good, real good.
[slow music]
I'm gonna go in there
and take that couch out and everything.
[Kathy] All right, wait a minute,
give that a few minutes, let me see.
[Dave] All right.
[Kathy] 'Cause, like, let me see,
I got little guys I haven't put out yet,
-so I gotta figure that out.
-[Dave] Oh, okay.
[Kathy] 'Cause sometimes they don't like
a change of routine.
[Kathy] I have not been
in that trailer in years.
She's gotta let me in.
I gotta get these couches out now.
Stay out.
[knocks on door]
[Kathy] Hey, guys.
[Dave] Can I get this
one long couch out now?
[Kathy] Wait a minute,
you've gotta... I'm working on it.
Give me... I'm working on it.
[Dave] Okay, thank you.
All right.
[Dave mumbles]
You know what it is, she's trying
to get the birds to come out, too,
'cause she took out
three birds today already,
so at least she's moving.
[rooster crows]
[Kathy] We're behaving, right?
That's good, come on up.
Get on up.
-What do you think?
-[rooster crows]
-See, look.
-[chicken clucking]
-It's okay, what do you think?
-[slow music]
I got some, they're not...
They were freaking out a bit,
but they'll be fine.
Good girl, up.
Hey, guys.
Hey, guys.
A few at a time.
Come on up, you're good.
No, no, you're good.
[clucking]
All good, all right, guys.
Don't... They'll do that,
they'll figure it out.
You stay here.
You're good.
All right, I'm going out.
All right, you got it.
Move that down.
Now that, I don't know, look.
He just... Look, "Murphy."
I didn't know he had it
back in that corner.
I won't get rid of that.
Yeah.
Yeah, look at that.
[coughs] Ooh, dusty.
It's kind of still weird
with him not being here.
He would have loved this.
I mean, that's the thing,
he would have loved this.
I'm 58.
Just because you're older
doesn't mean you can't change.
And I think we change every day,
we just don't realize it.
It's part of life.
So you can learn, or unlearn things.
[inaudible]
You're gonna change
no matter what, you know?
[Dave] There you go, there you go, whoa.
There you go.
[Kathy] You know,
whether it's good or bad,
it's up to you
which way you want to go with it.
It's all still kind of new, you know.
It's like a whole new world for me.
Here, how about you guys, here.
Go see that.
You wanna go out?
Go ahead.
You can do it, go.
[rooster crows]
Yay.
Looking good.
And that should be okay.
Well, we'll see what time they get here.
Good.
It'll just dry on its own, I'm good.
This stuff.
Boop, boop, good enough.
-Hey.
-[woman] Hi.
-Hi, come on in.
-Nice to see you.
Yes, that's nice. Hey, you look great.
So do you.
Finally got in the shower...
Thank you, thank you.
-[woman] Happy housewarming.
-[Kathy mumbles]
[Kathy] So it's been a whole day of,
like, introductions, and it's kind of fun,
and reunions, and like, whoa.
I went to bed around 2:00,
you know what I mean?
-'Cause I couldn't sleep.
-[woman] I'm so happy for you.
[indistinct talking]
Hi, how you doing?
You look fantastic. How are you doing?
-It's a beautiful house.
-Thank you, and I have--
Beautiful place, beautiful day.
[rooster crows]
Yesterday, yesterday
I got a new bed set,
we're working on this.
-And there's no chickens on the bed.
-No.
And there's no chicken droppings
on the bed.
There's no anything on the bed.
This is an improvement, an advance.
[Kathy] No, look, got furniture.
Look at this.
I mean, it's a queen-sized bed, look,
look at my walk-in shower,
is this nice, or what?
-Beautiful.
-Thank you.
I'm moving on up.
The chickens would love this.
[imitates chickens clucking]
They'll be fine, believe me,
they're happy where they are,
I got 'em, they're fine.
They... It looks happy.
They look very--
Yeah, they're happy,
and they're healthy,
and this is good, I'm working on
getting more stuff together, but it's...
It's been a progress, a process.
-Very nice.
-Thank you.
Hi, Mom!
Can I help you out?
Come here, let me--
[indistinct talking]
-Can you get up?
-[indistinct talking]
[William] Wasn't there a little baby
-in the picture...
-Yeah.
Deena!
[indistinct talking]
-[girl] That looks nice on you
-[Kathy] Thank you.
It's all right, he'll be all right.
Come on, you want to come with Grandma?
Go get whatever you have to get,
she'll come out.
We have veggie burgers.
We have lettuce,
we have all kinds of stuff.
[woman] A plate there if you want.
-They're good.
-[upbeat banjo music]
[William] You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You told me once, dear
You'll always love me
And no one will take my place
[indistinct talking]
Are you on Grandma's bed?
Hi, hi.
[indistinct talking]
-Noisy.
-[indistinct talking]
Say hi.
Hi.
Oh, hi. You all right?
Yeah, you're good.
Shh, you're on my bed, you're fine.
Hi. Peekaboo, Landon.
You're good.
[slow music]
[ducks quacking]
[slow music]
[ducks quack]