Meesha the Emu’s Surprise Stroll in South Rockwood

Sgt. John Price of the South Rockwood Police Department has been doing this job for 37 years. That’s a long time to collect strange calls. Then a 911 caller said an ostrich was walking down the road. It wasn’t an ostrich. It was Meesha, a pet emu out for a walk with no plan at all.

• A 911 caller reported an ostrich on South Huron River Drive, but Sgt. Price found a loose emu named Meesha instead.
• Owner Kelly Dokey found her bird after neighbors kept tagging her in Facebook posts.
• With help from a neighbor and the sergeant, Dokey lifted Meesha into a Bronco and got her home safe.

An Ostrich Call That Turned Out to Be an Emu

The call sounded strange enough to raise eyebrows. Someone told dispatch an ostrich was walking in the roadway. Price admitted he first assumed the caller had seen some other animal and guessed wrong about what it was. He headed out to South Huron River Drive anyway.

The caller was half right. A big, flightless bird really was out there. It just happened to be an emu.

Price had never handled an emu call in almost four decades on the job. Not once. So on the drive over he had to work out a pretty basic problem. How do you get a bird that size out of the road?

His first hope was an animal control officer, which would have made life a lot easier. But nobody from animal control was close by. So Price started brainstorming. Maybe a tarp? Maybe a net? He had neither one in his patrol car. Police cruisers carry plenty of gear, but emu equipment doesn’t usually make the list.

Then help showed up in the best possible form. Kelly Dokey, Meesha’s owner, was driving through the area when she spotted police. She knew right away her bird had to be the reason they were there.

How Meesha Slipped Out

Back at home, things had gone sideways fast. Dokey’s kids opened the door to Meesha’s pen, and the emu took her chance. The kids came in with everyone shouting that the emu was out, and Meesha crossed the street into a field.

The Dokey family is new to the neighborhood, so Meesha doesn’t know the area yet. That made the whole escape a little more nerve-racking.

Social media came to the rescue. Posts about the wandering bird started showing up on Facebook, and people kept tagging Dokey in them. As she put it, not many people own an emu, and everyone around her knows she does. Whether you live in a Michigan village or a small town like Madison, IN, a local Facebook group can turn your neighbors into a search party fast.

A Team Effort and a Waiting Bronco

Dokey’s timing mattered for another reason. She said Meesha isn’t fond of men. Price joked that his uniform made it a double strike against him. So he stepped back and let others take the lead.

A neighbor jumped in to help. Dokey grabbed Meesha’s feet, and the two of them scooped up the bird while the neighbor held her head. Price hurried to open the Bronco’s door and window, and the group got Meesha inside. Dokey knew they had to move quickly. Once the door shut, the job was done.

Dokey said she’s grateful to the neighbors and officers who pitched in. She also wanted people to know her family keeps its animals locked up and takes very good care of them. Sometimes a pen door just gets opened at the wrong moment.

Meesha Isn’t the Only Emu on the Run

Loose emus have kept a lot of officers busy lately. In September, Florida Highway Patrol troopers spotted an emu walking along the Polk Parkway around 8:30 on a Saturday morning and kept it corralled until its owners arrived. Police in Ramapo, New York, chased down an emu that escaped from a Rockland County petting zoo on Sept. 12. In Gilbert, Arizona, officers and good Samaritans helped an emu found in a canal. Police said it didn’t appear hurt, and it went to an animal care facility.

Then on Oct. 1, Prince George County Animal Services in Virginia caught an emu wandering along Loving Union Road. Officials said it took some running and teamwork, and nobody got hurt. They were still looking for that bird’s owner afterward, so Meesha’s quick reunion counts as one of the luckier endings.

Why a Runaway Emu Made for a Good Day in South Rockwood

Meesha is safe and sound back home after her trip down South Huron River Drive. Price said that after so many years on the job, he doesn’t always get happy endings. Being able to laugh and joke about an emu loose in the village made it a good day.

If you keep unusual animals, Meesha’s story is a good reason to check every pen door and talk with your kids about latching up behind themselves. Introduce yourself and your animals to new neighbors, too. When something does get out, people who already know it’s yours can tag you in a post, call it in, and maybe even grab a leg when it’s time to load up.