Warwick animal control officers investigate wild turkey crash landing

WARWICK-It's time to talk turkey. In addition to stray cats and dogs, animal control officers from the Warwick Valley Humane Society's Animal Shelter are frequently called to the rescue for a variety of creatures. In the past they've included rabbits, geese, ducks and ducklings, chickens, guinea pigs, fawns, birds, owls, falcons, hawks, goats, pigs, snakes, an iguana, ferrets, parakeets, a blue heron, turtles and assorted injured wildlife. "We've also had to handle cases involving sheep, horses and cows," said Suzyn Barron, president of the Humane Society. "And don't forget the case of the stray emu." Barron reports that the shelter handles far more than just dogs and cats and that dealing directly with the animals is only a portion of what animal control does. Now the shelter has a turkey tale. On Tuesday, May 10, Warwick resident Sheila Scheurerman called for help in removing a wild turkey from her living room. According to a neighbor who witnessed the event, the turkey was flying low and at high speed when it crashed through a double-pane bay window on the second floor of the house Scheurerman and her husband James own on Hoyt Road. When her son, Zach, 15, arrived home from school, he saw the broken window and went inside to investigate. He found himself face to face with the turkey standing at the top of the stairs. All things considered, the turkey was conscious and strutting around the house. But after he saw the youngster, he retreated. And so did Zach. When the animal control officers arrived, the turkey immediately took off and flew out exactly the same way he came in. But the evidence remained. "Feathers were everywhere," said Barron. "There was a blood stain on the far wall, broken glass everywhere and a glass shard imbedded in the opposite wall. But obviously, he didn't need rescuing because he booked it out of sight." Meanwhile, the Warwick Animal Shelter is still looking for a home for two stray chickens: "Henny Penny" the Hen and "Foghorn Leghorn" the rooster. They are almost three months old and shelter officials would like them to be adopted together.