Community Corner

No Bull: Runaway Calf was Seen Not Once --- But Three Times -- Sunday Night

The calf that ran away from certain slaughter in Orange was seen three times in the Overhill Road area of Milford.

The young calf still on the lam after escaping certain slaughter seems to have made Milford its home.

The calf was sighted Sunday night three times in the Overhill Road area -- where the one and only live photo of it was taken several days ago, according to Chief Animal Control Officer Rick George.

"It actually was seen three times. It's all in the same area. It's in that section of woods," George told Milford Patch.

Find out what's happening in Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It was a mooo-ving experience," he joked.

Now, he's intent on tracking and catching the calf -- which weighs up to 400 pounds -- before the animal gets itself into trouble. Generally, the calf is not considered a danger to humans. The fear is it will be spooked and end up in the path of a car or truck -- hurting itself or  human travelers.

Find out what's happening in Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'd like to catch him before he hits 1,000 pounds," George said.

The animal control officer has enlisted the help of some experts to help determine the best way to track and trap the animal -- so it could be taken to safety instead of the slaughterhouse.

The calf escaped a West Haven farm on the Orange border a few weeks ago -- jumping a 5-foot-high fence to save its own hide, according to George.

Because of its spirit of survival, George aims to rescue the calf from what would have been its certain fate.  The officer has already lined up a couple of rescue homes.

But first things first. The calf needs to be caught.

"It's not going to be a matter of getting out of the truck and putting a leash on him," George said. "I'd like to make an assessment of what we're dealing with."

Officials may track the calf's footprints and find out where it's bedding down or getting water.  Calves drink 30 to 50 gallons of water a day, George noted.

Once the calf is tracked, officials may bait it with food -- and set up temporary fencing around the area to capture the runaway.

Otherwise, officials might have to use a tranquilizer gun. But that could prove risky because they'd have to guess the correct dosage and the dart would have to hit the animal perfectly to have any effect, George explained.

"The animal could take off on you," he said.

The hunt (that's just a play on words, folks) is likely to take place later this week.

How do you think officials should track and catch the calf?

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Close Read More in Government   Comments (5)

I hope he finds his way home.

I submitted him for a Tosh.O , WTF mention or a DeerGhost sends in Calf web redemption, maybe Daniel Tosh will come find him LOL
As long as it isn't someone they are paying with city budget. funds lookingf for that wanna be designer bag Veal Chop think we'll all be happy....
And personally I think he was tweeting while he was having a brewskie at a Local Bar bragging about how high he jumped LOL

After a few most guys are bragging how the can jump over the moon just before they fall in the ditch....LOL

Tell him he can be a Minolo Blahnik someday.......

oh whoops thought you said he wanted to leave a low carbon footprint
Shoulda put my glasses on......
Maybe you can tell him there are free Skinny Cow Bars at Stop and Shop...(;
It's awful hot maybe he'll show up for em LOL
Tell him they are having the Corn and Tatter Festival in North Branford and they need him to donate some chips for the Cow Chip contest....so obviously he's traveling in the wrong direction if he came from orange.....

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