By: Associated Press

October 23, 2016

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- An escaped emu sent deputies on a wild goose chase after it walked up to a bar in central Florida.

The long-legged bird, which resembles an ostrich, hopped its 4-foot fence in Cape Canaveral on Friday and sauntered up to a local Irish pub.

The emu's owner, Paul Eaton, said the bird was spooked by a stray dog. It took Brevard County Sheriff's deputies and an animal control officer more than an hour to capture the 8-year-old bird.

A spokesman for the sheriff's office said it was like trying to catch a giant chicken. Emus are the second-largest living bird by height. They are fast sprinters and, when agitated, can jump and kick with considerable force.

Florida Today reports the emu, named Taco, also jumped the fence in Oct. 2012 and ran amok on State Road A1A.