Jail Birds: 8 Apprehended, 4 Still ‘At Large’

Clare County Animal Shelter

4040 Hazel Dr
Harrison, Michi 48625

HARRISON – While the Cleaver was covering the Nov. 4 One Stop Shop vaccination and licensing clinic at the Clare County Animal Shelter, Animal Control Director Rudi Hicks took a moment to point out some recently impounded guests of the shelter.

Hicks explained that a call had been received reporting turkeys on the loose. With patience, the caller was informed that wild turkeys fall under the prevue of the Department of Natural Resources. A subsequent call was made and the responding DNR officer easily discerned that the turkeys were indeed domestic, and the animal shelter was brought back into the mix. That was when Animal Control Officers Bob Dodson and Tara Westphal went out and captured them – something anyone who ever tried to chase down a turkey knows is no small task.

“Tara would net them,” Dodson said. “And I would put them in the truck.”

Hicks smiled as she reported that only eight of the birds had been retrieved, and four were still “on the lam.”

It remains unclear whether the poultry pen break was the result of wanderlust or the persistent barnyard rumor that the Thanksgiving holiday bodes well for no lollygagging gobbler.   © Clare County Cleaver