Oklahoma family searches for missing kangaroo
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, November 24, 2012
SHAWNEE — An Oklahoma family is searching for their missing pet: an 11-month-old kangaroo named Lucy Sparkles.
Shayla Menhusen said her family last saw Lucy on Thanksgiving, when she thinks the red kangaroo was freaked out by people gathered at their home near Shawnee for the holiday.
“We had lots of kids around and they just wanted to see her and watch her hop around,” Menhusen told The Associated Press on Saturday. “Of course, when she starts to hop, kids start laughing and screaming with excitement. And I think that might have spooked her.”
So, Menhusen and her family have been whistling and calling out Lucy’s name as they look for her in nearby fields and woods. But Menhusen said she’s worried Lucy cannot hear them because it’s been windy.
“And if she’s calling back, we can’t hear her either,” Menhusen said.
Plus, Lucy is gray, so it’s not easy to spot her in a rural area about 40 miles east of Oklahoma City.
“With all the fall colors out there, she just blends right in,” Menhusen said. “She’s definitely going to be hard to see if you can’t hear her and she’s not hopping.”
The family got Lucy in June after Menhusen’s husband, Larry, expressed an interest in exotic animals. He talked about getting a wallaby, but decided against it. So he and their eldest daughter, Layla, drove to Texas to pick up the family’s first pet: a 6-month-old kangaroo.
The name Lucy Sparkles was Layla’s idea.
“She was so excited that she was getting a kangaroo,” Menhusen said.
Lucy lives in a little house outside the family’s home.
“She comes to a whistle much like a dog would and she also comes to the call of her name,” Menhusen said. “And she comes to the mimic of the sound that a kangaroo makes, which none of us are very good at ...”
The family is offering a $500 reward.
Associated Images:
An undated photo provided by the Menhusen family shows kangaroo Lucy Sparkles with Layla Menhusen (left) and Indya Menhusen. The Menhusen family is searchng for their pet, which the family last saw on Thanksgiving, when Sheila Menhusen says she thinks the red kangaroo was frightened by people gathered at their home near Shawnee for the holiday. The family is offering a $500 reward. (AP Photo/The Menhusen family)
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