Anyone Missing A Wallaby? Dallas Woman Finds Animal Hopping Around Her Backyard
UPDATED: March 20, 2019 1:35 PM
The wallaby was safely returned to its owner.
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman in Lakewood was surprised to see a wallaby hopping around her driveway as she got ready for work.
Casey Tiernan quickly snapped a pic of the macropod and posted to Facebook:
"Posts I never thought I'd write: If you are missing your kangaroo or wallaby, it's chilling in my driveway. 5900 block of Vickery. Seems pretty tame and wants in the house. We're trying to coax it into the back yard so it can have a safer place. #lakewoodlife"
Suffice to say the furry little fella or lady is far from home. Wallabies are members of the kangaroo clan found primarily in Australia and on nearby islands.
Animal Rescue caught the wallaby, but "not without some drama" according to Tiernan, after she, her husband, some neighbors, several animal rescue people and even some news reporters herded it into their backyard and closed the gate.
It apparently took several tries to catch the animal, but the wallaby was eventually "gently captured in a large net."
Tiernan posted that an animal rescue worker cradled the wallaby in his arms and even scratched its neck. The animal was "calm and obviously tame and clearly enjoyed being scratched," said Tiernan. "I'm just glad it's safe."
It isn't illegal to own a wallaby in either the City of Dallas or in the State of Texas, according to Dallas Animal Services [DAS] manager, Whitney Hanson.
"If somebody owns it as a pet, we bring it into the shelter and contain it safely until the owner is found," she said.
Wednesday's wallaby encounter isn't the first time DAS was called to wrangle the breed either.
"It's unusual but it's not unheard of. We don't see it every day. But we have see them in the past," said Hanson.
DAS placed the wayward wallaby in a restricted room so that it wouldn't stress out the dogs housed there.
If no one comes forward, they will try to place the wallaby in a sanctuary or with an appropriate rescue organization.