“Cops followed a cow through town today,” the Salem Police Department’s Twitter feed informed the citizenry on Tuesday. “Do we need to say more?”

Not really, but it would be nice. And so the Salem Police added a few details: “Cow escaped from its trailer when the owner had stopped. Cow reached trot speed during its 2-mile trek thru NE #SalemOr. A helpful cowboy helped our #urbancowboy cops coral the cow. Cow & cops waited patiently for the owner.”

Then, of course, the puns started.

Cops followed a cow through town today.



Do we need to say more? pic.twitter.com/vDnGjl3Otp — Salem Police Dept. (@SalemPoliceDept) April 24, 2019

OK we probably do need to say a little more. Cow escaped from its trailer when the owner had stopped. Cow reached trot speed during its 2-mile trek thru NE #SalemOR. A helpful cowboy helped our #urbancowboy cops coral the cow. Cow & cops waited patiently for the owner. #TheEnd — Salem Police Dept. (@SalemPoliceDept) April 24, 2019

Right?! o the cow was in the roadway, it was completely ignoring the Moooooooooo-over law!



Ok, ok ... your turn! https://t.co/Nuf0NocJOq — Salem Police Dept. (@SalemPoliceDept) April 24, 2019

Fun stuff – but not unprecedented in these parts. Portlanders of a certain age might remember a similar chase 50 years ago. Reporters in Rose City newsrooms on Feb. 4, 1969, gathered around the police scanner when they heard this:

"Uh, say, I'm following a brown-and-white cow on the freeway. He's running now. I don't quite know what to do about it."

The brown-and-white cow wasn’t the only one out there after the gate on a cattle truck swung open on the Interstate Freeway near Memorial Coliseum. Portland police ended up chasing half-a-dozen wayward cows that night.

Portland's escaped cows in 1969 (The Oregonian)

"Information to all cars on the freeway,” the police dispatcher announced at one point. “The cow is now southbound."

"Mooooo! Ride 'em cowboy!" came the reply.

After a four-hour pursuit, the Portland officers corralled the animals. By then, they’d also found the cows’ owner. This led an officer on the scene to radio in a request:

"Look up ‘Driving with an unsecured load,' will you?"

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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