Thanking the Monkey - Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in the US, Karen Dawn grew up and studied in Australia. She pursued a Science degree colloquially tagged "rats and stats,” so she knows firsthand that views and habits can shift. She hopes her furry subjects will shine forgiving blessings upon her current work.

She worked as a news researcher and writer for Australia’s national nightly news magazine show "The 7:30 Report," on ABC, then moved to New York where she played the downtown music scene -- and made fruit salad at the Saint Francis of Xavier soup kitchen every Sunday. After reading “Animal Liberation” she was moved to devote her efforts to those most abused by society and least able to help themselves -- the animals.

Karen founded the animal advocacy media watch DawnWatch.com. Check it out to see her daily work and published op-eds. As a spokesperson for the animal rights movement she has appeared on all of the major news networks and on MTV, and has hosted talk shows on major radio stations. Her opinion pieces have been published in leading newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Newsday and the UK Guardian. Her book, Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, was first published in 2008 and was listed by the Washington Post as one of the “Best Books of the Year.”

Karen may now be best known for her annual turkey rescue, in which she brings two turkeys who have been rescued from the slaughter industry into her home over Thanksgiving, to be loved, pampered, and do media appearances, before being retired to a sanctuary where they can live out their lives as turkey ambassadors. The annual rescue has garnered much media, having been covered multiple times by the Los Angeles Times, numerous times by the Los Angeles ABC station, also on other local stations such as KTLA, and by national ABC and the Fox Business News Network.