Story Archive

Mooving Out

Farmer Keith Cookson of Cambridge, Maine, called several agencies with a problem: his newly purchased cow had escaped from the trailer it was being hauled in. “For literally hours the farmer and cow played hide and seek; with the cow easily winning the game,” Piscataquis County Chief Deputy Sheriff Robert Young said. “Things became serious when the cow ended up in the middle of a dark country road. And there it stayed.” Cookson was advised to shoot the cow, since if a motorist hit it, he’d be liable for damages. Finally, Deputies Kyle Wilson and Trevor Duby responded. “When I got there, I spoke to the farmer and said, ‘How about we try something crazy’,” Wilson says. “How about we try and Taser it?” Since the only alternative was killing it, Cookson agreed, and the cow was Tasered. “But before the farmer can tie off the bovine’s legs,” Young said, “it starts thrashing and kicking, and up [the cow] stands, now on the run.” They pursued it down the road in a cruiser, pulling alongside and firing the Taser again. The cow suffered a little road rash on its face, but was otherwise unharmed. (MS/Bangor Daily News) ...Her new “pasture name”: Scarface.