Man seen walking rooster on a leash in Ohio becomes overnight social media celebrity
An Ohio man unwittingly became a hot topic on social media this week, after his wife mentioned he walks a chicken on a leash around the neighborhood.
Melissa May, of Verona, Ohio, posted the admission on the Appalachian Americans Facebook group (with 352,000 members), and included a photo of her husband, Shawn May, out with his rooster.
The bird has been named Carl Francis and he follows her husband everywhere, she said.
“Please tell me we are not the only ones with a rooster this friendly,” May wrote in the Jan. 18 post.
“About 5 months ago, someone dumped a rooster off at our house. I have no idea why but they did. My husband is a carpenter and is always working in the garage. ... This rooster followed him in and hasn’t left since. ... The rooster now has a harness on and my husband takes him on walks on a leash. He also likes to be held.”
Her post racked up 11,000 reactions and 1,200 comments in less than a day, including a lot of people who said they, too, have beloved chickens.
One woman said her daughter actually made clothes for her chickens, another let the chicken sleep in the house at night (in a bird cage), and one family admitted to taking their chicken for car rides.
“If he hears you, he will run to try to get to the car door or stand in front so you can’t leave!” one person wrote on Facebook.
Melissa May says she has been taken off guard by the response.
“I’m glad that our homeless chicken and my crazy husband can bring this much delight to everyone,” she told McClatchy News.
“We decided he (the rooster) was put here for a reason and he was going to stay no matter what. The first night, he started eating my husband’s dinner right off his plate. ... I thought it was funny at first.”
She’s the one who found the harness for Carl Francis, at her husband’s request. It did not strike her as strange after four years of marriage, she said.
“Today, he decided to put one of our dog’s sweaters on the rooster to see if he likes it. Now, I have to get a sweater for the rooster, one that isn’t for a girl dog,” she said.
“Nothing my husband does surprises me anymore.”
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