Guess Janet wanted a doorstop, not a book.

Pulled a whole gecko out of a Pentax once, dried up and stuck to the shutter curtain. Blew it out with canned air and a soft brush, then hit the inside with a little isopropyl on a swab, worked fine after that. Just watch the mirror and shutter, those little legs get everywhere.

The move that works in this spot is to not try to beat the pun, just extend it. When somebody lands a line like that at the table, the best reply is usually a quick follow up that keeps the same wordplay going instead of starting a new joke. In my family the person who wins is never the one with the biggest zinger, it's the one who tags on something small like "well played, Ray, you really carved that one out" while the bird is still moving around the table. Timing matters more than the joke itself, so if you wait 20 seconds the moment is gone and everything after that lands flat, which is exactly what happened to your dad. My advice for this November is to have one short follow up ready in your head before the turkey even hits the table, something that builds on whatever pun gets dropped. Your mileage may vary since every family is different, but the short extension almost always beats a brand new joke.