HOUSTON — Houston is known for some wild animal stories, but as of lately, it seems like the livestock have been running amok in our area.
Fourteen donkeys and a horse were impounded from a property in Crosby last month after being abandoned and a cow was caught on doorbell surveillance roaming through a southeast Houston neighborhood.
So what happens to all these animals when they're picked up?
The Harris County Livestock Unit impounded the donkeys and horse found in Crosby. All but five of the donkeys were sent to an auction. The rest were adopted by a Hill Country 501 3C Ranch.
The donkeys are just a handful of the 1,348 animals handled by the Livestock Unit this year. All but 87 were returned to their owners, thanks to brands, tags and “The Book”.
“We have 'the book' of livestock owners in the county...look around in that area where the animals were found and try to locate owners," Sgt. Warren Conner explained.
As you can imagine, Sgt. Conner has plenty of wild stories, like the seven longhorns trapped between concrete medians on Beltway 8 at Highway 288.
That was during the pandemic.
“People don't realize cows jump and jump like deer," Conner said.
While pointing to a chest-high fence he said, “They can clear this and never touch it. Most cows don't even know they can do it. If you got a cow that's a jumper, that shows the others how to do it, all of a sudden all of them can do it.”
Conner said they don't even need a running start.
Livestock typically get out to search for greener grass. Usually, they get out through broken fences or just wandering.
Then there are the exotic animals.
“We’ve picked up emus, picked up peacocks, helped with capturing alligators big and small, not our favorite," Conner said.
Some of the animals end up working for Harris County.
A miniature horse rescued from a storm drain has become the mascot for the Harris County Mounted Patrol and is appropriately named “Chief”.