Man seeks missing emu
<p>In this November 24, 2010 Press file photo, Sheila, a 4-year-old emu, walks through the snow in her pen as Vern Harvey follows behind. The bird has been seen roaming the area of Bonnell Road after a fatal attack on a second emu allowed the bird to get loose from its pen.</p>
<p>Dan Dolezal shows frustration at the death of one of his two pet emus on Thursday at his Coeur d’Alene home. Last Friday one of his emu was killed and the other continues to run loose.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - There are large feathers scattered throughout the property at Dan Dolezal's Coeur d'Alene home, the remnants of a battle between his two emus and two neighborhood dogs.
Dolezal, who owns the Camera Corral on Sherman Avenue, was at work last Friday when he received a phone call from a neighbor saying he needed to come home immediately. When he arrived, Dolezal was shocked by the amount of feathers and heartbroken at the sight of his emu, Prunella, lying dead.
Sheila, his other emu, was scared off by the dogs and has been missing ever since.
"I'm not happy about this at all, but what can you do? I don't want to be all pissy and vindictive about it, but I've had those birds for 13 years," Dolezal said. "I would at least like to bring Sheila home."
Dolezal said the two birds have been a significant part of his daily life. He uses their eggs to make frittatas for breakfast, and one egg is enough food for a week of morning meals.
Since Sheila went missing, Dolezal said there have been several sightings of the emu near his property in the Yellowstone Trail area above Beauty Bay. He also filed a report with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, which told him that the owner of the dog would be issued a misdemeanor citation for the death of Prunella.
The misdemeanor charge would be dropped, Dolezal said, if the sheriff's office receives proof that he was compensated for the loss of the emu.
"But I have no idea what an emu is worth," Dolezal said. "When we bought them they were new, and we paid $35 apiece for them. 'Purina Emu Chow' isn't cheap though. We went through a $60 bag of the stuff every week."
He added that he has spoken with the owners of the dogs, who expressed their sadness about the incident.
This week Dolezal contacted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the hope that it could provide him with assistance in capturing the bird. He said he was told that, although the agency regularly darts and transports wild animals, they had no idea as to the amount of tranquilizer they would need to sedate the creature.
"I don't know how we're going to corral her. It's really going to be a struggle to capture her and bring her home," Dolezal said.
In the unlikely event a resident has experienced a similar situation, or if anyone has seen Sheila the emu, Dolezal asked to be contacted at (208)755-2694.