moo knows

May 29, 2007
N.Y. Steer's 6 - Week Romp Ends in Capture
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:38 a.m. ET
MATTITUCK, N.Y. (AP) -- An escaped steer's six-week romp through back yards, roadways and beaches ended when he was finally cornered and returned to his owner, authorities said.
The roughly 600-pound bovine, named Moo, was captured Saturday evening after showing up on a crowded beach.
Moo led police and a veterinarian through sand, swampland and into a back yard, where his escapade finally ended. The steer was shot with a tranquilizer dart, said veterinarian Dr. John Andresen, then taken back to Greenport farmer Joseph Barszczewski.
The farmer said Sunday that the steer -- secured with a rope -- seemed content now in the company of a horse and dog.
''It looks good right now after a very ugly whole situation,'' Barszczewski said.
Back in April, the newly arrived Moo broke through a metal fence, starting his life on the run, Barszczewski said. The farmer had just bought the steer to raise for slaughter.
Moo hunkered down in woods near Barszczewski's vegetable farm and then began to roam, covering about 10 miles of eastern Long Island, police said. At times, the steer turned up in homeowners' yards; at other points, he nearly caused car accidents on a local road.
''He didn't charge,'' said Southold Police Sgt. Raymond VanEtten. ''He wasn't an aggressive-type animal -- he just was on a mission not to get captured.''