TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – More than a year ago, 13 News told you about an emu named Liberty who was reunited with his owner, Tattoo Tattoo.
And now, another emu has gone missing in the Avra Valley area.
Echo went missing on New Year’s Eve.
13 News spoke with Veronica Browne, who lives in Avra Valley, about her search for her precious pet and how the community can help.
Echo got out of his pen in Avra Valley on New Year’s Eve.(Veronica Browne)
“Echo’s my love. Like I can hug him, and hold his little hand,” Browne said. “He’ll put his head on my shoulder. And he’s just the best.”
Veronica Browne said she’s had Echo and his mate Delta for about a year and a half, but the two emus have been together since birth.
The night Echo got out, Delta also got injured and has been having a hard time without her mate.
“She’s been pacing a lot, drumming a lot,” Browne said. “She panicked also and cut her neck wide open.”
Browne said Echo got out after fireworks in the area scared him; she said he jumped three of their fences in the panic.
She said while they try to desensitize their animals as much as they can, there isn’t much they can do when it comes to fireworks that explode in the air.
Veronica Browne is looking for her pet emu, Echo, who got out of his pen in Avra Valley on New Year’s Eve.(13 News)
“A lot of animals aren’t equipped for that,” Browne said. “You can’t train livestock, you can’t.”
Browne is asking the community to keep an eye out for Echo, and if you see him, she said you can reach out to her with where you spotted him so she can go looking for him.
“I will come search for hours to get him,” Browne said. “Don’t approach him, he might run, or he might, you know, he’ll be scared.”
You can also reach out to locations like PACC or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, as Browne has already told them about Echo’s disappearance.
“He’s my pet, he’s part of the family. I’ve raised him since he was about yea big,” Browne said. “And I love him, and I miss him, and it just, if it was your pet, you’d be upset.”
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