Posted on 07/23/2002 1:26:53 PM PDT by Shermy
HOLT, Fla. -- An Okaloosa County sheriff's deputy killed a rampaging emu with five shots after the flightless bird chased one dog and harassed others in this rural Florida Panhandle community.
The 5-foot-tall emu, whose ownership was uncertain, was spoiling for a fight with four dogs on the other side of a fence in Holly Booe's yard Sunday.
Emus, native to Australia, are similar in appearance to ostriches and are raised as a lowfat alternative to red meat.
"It sure had fun with our dogs,'' Booe said. "It was like a chicken, with its head bobbing up and down, charging the fence. We didn't know who was going to get over the fence first.''
A fifth dog, a Labrador retriever mix named Bull, then entered the fray from the other side of the fence. Bull belongs to Booe's neighbor, Don Diehl.
"I was talking to the sheriff and the next thing you know, there's my dog,'' Diehl recalled. "That bird wanted to get that dog bad.''
Bull and the emu chased one another while Deputies John Jenks and Jon Bush contacted the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.
"PAWS stated that they would not respond to this incident until Monday due to the fact that the last officer who attempted to pick up an emu ended up being hospitalized from injuries sustained during the fight,'' Jenks wrote in a police report.
Fearing the bird would harm dogs or neighborhood children, Jenks fired three shots into its torso. The emu kept running about 20 feet before collapsing and then Jenks fired two more shots to kill it, according to his report.
This is not the first time police in Florida have killed an emu. In South Florida, a Miramar police officer shot a 6-foot-tall, 150-pound emu that had been running in and out traffic on New Year's Day 1991.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!
So? Why protect the dog? 5 Shots into an Emu- that tells me the Emu would have won without human intervention. Or, the damn sherrif was a lousy shot.
Emus are cuter than dogs. Go Auz!
A moment of silence, please, for the English language.
I think it's sad, though, that it had to come to this.
"PAWS stated that they would not respond to this incident until Monday due to the fact that the last officer who attempted to pick up an emu ended up being hospitalized from injuries sustained during the fight,'' Jenks wrote in a police report.
You know it's bad when Animal Control refuses to respond out of fear for their own safety.
In South Florida, a Miramar police officer shot a 6-foot-tall, 150-pound emu that had been running in and out traffic on New Year's Day 1991.
A comical but scary sight, I'm sure. A six-foot tall, 150 pound BIRD running out into traffic?
I was wondering when I cricked on the headline how long it would take for such a grammatical gaffe to be noticed. It's heartening to see that it didn't take long.
Michael
And did you notice that the headline works when parsed in either direction?
Deputy Kills Emu After Harassing Dogs
Dogs Harassing After Emu Kills Deputy
I'm glad the deputy killed the emu and saved the dog.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.