When a cow started running loose through Port Orange, Florida, Lewis Perry handled it the only way he knew how: he saddled up his horse and rode into town.Before the roundup came the routine.Perry prepared Tweety, his 8-year-old roping horse, for a job no one expected, capturing a stray cow wandering near homes and busy streets Thursday. “I called around to some buddies of mine, and nobody was really available,” Perry said. “So I told my wife, I said, ‘I think we’ve got to do something about this.’” Once he located the cow, he knew there was little room for error.“If you go to rope a cow that is loose like that, you generally only get one try at it,” Perry said. “If you rope it and miss, then she or he will bolt, and you have to race and chase them down. In suburbs like that, it can get really dangerous.” With homes, traffic, and onlookers nearby, a missed throw could have made the situation worse.But Perry made the catch.With assistance from officers and neighbors, he guided the cow safely into a trailer without injuries or damage.He credited Tweety for staying calm despite the unusual surroundings, including crowds gathering to watch.“It didn’t bother him at all,” Perry said. “It bothered me more than him, probably.”Where the cow came from remains unclear.“That one had no markings at all, which is weird,” Perry said. “We use ear tags on all of our cattle.”For now, Perry is keeping the cow while trying to identify its owner.In the meantime, he’s praising the horse that helped bring the situation under control.“He’s just a well-mannered horse that does a very good job for me,” Perry said. “I’m very, very lucky to own him.”
When a cow started running loose through Port Orange, Florida, Lewis Perry handled it the only way he knew how: he saddled up his horse and rode into town.
Before the roundup came the routine.
Perry prepared Tweety, his 8-year-old roping horse, for a job no one expected, capturing a stray cow wandering near homes and busy streets Thursday.
“I called around to some buddies of mine, and nobody was really available,” Perry said. “So I told my wife, I said, ‘I think we’ve got to do something about this.’”
Once he located the cow, he knew there was little room for error.
“If you go to rope a cow that is loose like that, you generally only get one try at it,” Perry said. “If you rope it and miss, then she or he will bolt, and you have to race and chase them down. In suburbs like that, it can get really dangerous.”
With homes, traffic, and onlookers nearby, a missed throw could have made the situation worse.
But Perry made the catch.
With assistance from officers and neighbors, he guided the cow safely into a trailer without injuries or damage.
He credited Tweety for staying calm despite the unusual surroundings, including crowds gathering to watch.
“It didn’t bother him at all,” Perry said. “It bothered me more than him, probably.”
Where the cow came from remains unclear.
“That one had no markings at all, which is weird,” Perry said. “We use ear tags on all of our cattle.”
For now, Perry is keeping the cow while trying to identify its owner.
In the meantime, he’s praising the horse that helped bring the situation under control.
“He’s just a well-mannered horse that does a very good job for me,” Perry said. “I’m very, very lucky to own him.”