It took four cowboys, three dogs, and a pack of dog food to finally capture two stray cows that had been running loose in Oklahoma for two years.
Crews spent two hours chasing the Black Angus cows for 31 miles last week until the cows got tired, tied them up with ropes and carried them to safety.
The capture ended a two-year reign of terror at Brenda Stapleton’s Tulsa County property. Two people who survived a truck crash on a nearby road in 2022 now call it home.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they? They can’t belong in our garden,” Stapleton said. told 2 News.
The giant cow appeared on a Stapleton property in 2022, shortly after a cattle trailer overturned on Interstate 244 and 90 cows were rescued.
Although most were captured within hours of the incident, the two black beauties were found comfortable in Mr. Stapleton’s garden, frequently munching on the grass and leaving large cow patties in their wake.
The mischievous duo have also been known to sneak up to her windows, even repeatedly unplugging her septic tank and allowing waste to back up into her home.
“That’s all it could have been,” she explained. “There’s some tall grass right there. I could see where they were pulling the grass, but I think they probably grabbed the string and pulled it.”
In addition to being a nuisance, Stapleton stressed that the cows pose safety issues. At night, the cows are unable to distinguish their black fur and are at risk of being hit by passing cars.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office said multiple attempts to scare the beast away were exhausted.
Instead, they suggested Stapleton hire a professional cowboy, but that only infuriated the homeowners even more. It shouldn’t be my responsibility. ”
Luckily, a group of bickering enthusiasts came to her rescue last week after watching her plead her case in an interview with 2 News last week.
Bill Inhofe said he was “shocked” that the cows were still wreaking havoc in the area. His business, Sooner Emergency Services, had responded to the 2022 wreck and believed the unrecovered cattle had died in the wild.
That’s when he, three other cowboys, and three dogs set out to solve Stapleton’s problem.
They didn’t feed the cows dog food before letting their canines track the scent.
“When they see a cow, the dog screams, so the cowboys can look at their phones and know exactly where the cow is,” Inhoff explained.
“They pull it out of the bushes, throw a rope over it and put it on a trailer.”
She spent two years trying to get the cows out and said she misses seeing them grazing in the area.
“It’s sad to see them go,” she said. “I got used to talking to them and trying to be friends. I’m disappointed that I couldn’t achieve that.”
Inhofe plans to take the cows to his ranch and let them settle in until they can become accustomed to captivity again after two years of freedom. And he said he would probably sell it.
