‘On the Lam’ Rooster Finally Caught in Quad Cities

The rooster, named after the Warner Bros. character Foghorn Leghorn, had been at large for more than a month before being cornered by animal rescuers.

Now, the citizens of the Quad Cities can rest easily in their beds--at least until dawn comes and all that crowing starts.

Evading capture for more than a month in Moline's Olde Towne neighborhood, Foghorn somehow slipped up and was snared by rescuers led by Taylor McMullen, a former animal control officer and co-founder of the Quad Cities Animal Recovery Team.

From WQAD.com:

Enter Taylor McMullen, the co-founder of Quad Cities Animal Recovery Team. McMullen, a former animal control officer for Scott County, spends her spare time rescuing animals in peril around the region. She’d heard stories about Moline’s elusive rooster for a few weeks and decided her expertise could help bring him in from the cold. Neighbors were worried that Foghorn (that’s the name McMullen gave him, because she’s fond of Warner Bros cartoons) would freeze to death or come to some other unfortunate end. So early the morning of Thursday, Feb. 22 McMullen and two other QCART volunteers traveled to his last known location and the stalk was on.

After cornering the rooster between a neighbor's house and a tree, a weighted net was used to make the final capture. McMullen says that after some initial upset, Foghorn Leghorn calmed down after being caged--and fed some tomatoes.

The wayward rooster has been taken in by a foster family for now, McMullen said. She is worried his owner – presumably a Moline resident – may not come forward because the city’s backyard chicken ordinance only allows for hens, not roosters. But even if that is the case, Foghorn should be able to live out his days in peace.

“The fosters have a farm, so if no one comes to claim him, he can stay there,” she said. “He’ll be much happier than running around in the cold and snow.”

It seems that Roosters are accomplished escape artists. Like this one in Russia: