By Monty Siekerman
The saga of the loose chicken continues.
He now has a name: Richard the Rooster.
He can be found in the 500 block of South Johnson Street.
About 10 days ago, the rooster was first spotted on East Lehr Avenue. People took pictures of him, watched his antics, even called the police to try to catch the stray.
Alas, the owner saw a picture of his wayward rooster posted on the Ada Icon. He came to capture Richard the Rooster and took him home about 10 days ago, but that's not the end of Richard the Rowdy Rooster story.
Richard again escaped, made his way to South Johnson and has been entertaining residents there for about two weeks now. He's fed (likes watermelon, for one thing) and makes himself at home atop fences, under shrubbery, and has even flown over a house when particularly scared. By now, he's used to the dogs in the neighborhood, and they don't seem to mind the interloper.
No cats, raccoons, or other wildlife have eaten the cock. Good thing he made a left turn when he got to Johnson Street because a right turn would have landed him near McDonald's...they serve McChicken, you know.
Richard the Rooster is a downtown oddity, but no one seems to mind, he's causing no harm, and those who live in the neighborhood seem to enjoy watching his comings and goings.
Always on the search for a local story, this reporter spotted Richard, stopped the car, searched for the rooster in bushes for about 10 minutes. Richard hides well.
Finally, Laurie Hartke came out of her house, told the story of Richard's recent past, and offered the Ada Icon some of the photos she has taken of the colorful (he's no ordinary rooster) bird.
If you run across the feathered friend, let the Ada Icon know your story. In the meantime, we hope he happily lives out his life, remains safe, well fed, and stays well behaved. We don't want him running afowl of the law.
