2 calves found safe after escaping from Pittsburgh-area farm
The tale of two missing cows in Pittsburgh's North Hills has come to a happy ending, but not without shutting down part of the Parkway North on Wednesday.
Named Houdini and the other Whodunit, two baby cows that escaped from a McCandless farm over the last couple of days were found safe, ending a long search.
The two well-traveled, 1-year-old cows seemed happy as they strolled along the Parkway North near the Camp Horne Road exit. Their breakout and great escape from Eichner's Farm prompted a be on the lookout for the bovine.
"That put them on the lam, so it's been a four-day run," Ron Eichner of Eichner's Farm said.
The two Dexter-variety cattle didn't seem very bothered as they'd walk north a few yards and south a few yards, seemingly oblivious to the traffic mess they were creating.
That is, until they took a nap thanks to some tranquilizer darts.
"Just made them a little sleepy, which is good," Eichner said.
After their chemically induced slumber, the cows were loaded in a livestock trailer and headed to another farm to recover from their jaunt. While there, they will have a family reunion, of sorts.
"There are seven siblings out at that farm," Eichner said. "They'll be back for a week, and back here at the farm, reunited and having fun."
Eichner says he's just thankful the animals weren't hit by a vehicle, which could have resulted in a much sadder conclusion. But, thankfully, this story ends well.
"I always say we're here to support the community; all we need is community support. It happened between you guys in the media and the community. We have a happy ending. Life continues."
Escape prompts multi-day search
The search began after farm owner Michael Stewart said he went to check on his livestock on Tuesday morning and noticed a few animals were missing.
"(The cows) found a weak link in the fence," Stewart said.
Stewart told KDKA-TV on Tuesday that the calves tried their great escape once and failed, but it appears they learned from their first breakout attempt.
"Unfortunately, they got out this time. They were very determined to get out, and when they got out, they bee-lined it," Stewart said.
The male and female calves were spotted at a few nearby locations before their capture, including the Franklin Inn and Franklin Elementary School.
Meanwhile, the compromised cow pen will be remedied to prevent another escape.
