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Dutchess County is getting two new residents, courtesy of two of the county’s most famous residents.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who lives in Pleasant Valley with wife Hilarie Burton, is adopting a donkey and emu who’ve bonded with each other so that they can stay together. The pair is coming to live with the actors on their farm.
Carolina Waterfowl Rescue Founder Jennifer Gordon announced the adoption Tuesday.
Jack and Diane were rescued from Kershaw, South Carolina, when their owner vanished. Gordon says they cuddle and sleep together, but cried and became frantic when they were separated.
Morgan is known for a variety of roles, namely that of the villainous Negan on “The Walking Dead.” Burton is most well known for her role in “One Tree Hill.” She also stars in the new holiday movie “The Christmas Contract.”
She says Morgan found out about Jack the donkey and Diane the emu on social media, and he tweeted Nov. 11 that he’d be “happy to take them, and keep them together at our farm.” At that point, the center in Indian Trail and Morgan began exchanging emails.
“It was clear he is an animal lover and his farm was fabulous,” says Gordon. “I am embarrassed to say I had to ask who that was. I don’t really watch a lot of television. I definitely knew who he was when I saw the picture. I have seen episodes of ‘The Walking Dead.’”
Morgan and Burton are co-owners of Samuel's Sweet Shop in Rhinebeck, along with fellow Dutchess resident Paul Rudd and others.
The couple also has led an ongoing renovation project at Astor Services for Children & Families, and participate in an annual fundraiser for the organization labeled "Ghost Stories."
It’s easy to see understand how Morgan learned of the donkey and emu.
Their story got international attention after Carolina Waterfowl Rescue posted Nov. 6 on Facebook that the pair were so intensely bonded that they’d need to be adopted together.
Gordon says the post sparked more than 2,000 inquiries, including Morgan’s.
Gordon says the pair act as if they’re a romantic couple. “They like to cuddle and even sleep together,” Gordon told the Observer. “We can’t separate them. Where one goes, the other follows.”
Gordon says Morgan —who is also known for recurring roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Supernatural” — proved to be the best choice to adopt the pair because he has the resources to take care of them and a “huge” farm where they can roam free.
“We had a lot of people trying to capitalize on the publicity of the story, and we were really concerned that they would end up in the wrong hands,” says Gordon.
“I strongly felt that by allowing Jeffrey Dean Morgan to adopt them that it would take the publicity fear off the table. He definitely doesn’t need to adopt an animal to get publicity, and so I knew that would not be his motive in giving them a home.”
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