A lost pet chicken probably wouldn’t fare too well for long while on the move in Colorado. After all, there are plenty of predators to be found around the state that could pose a deadly hazard – from coyotes to mountain lion to fox. That said, a recent situation that unfolded in Douglas County thankfully had a happy ending.

A post was made on January 8 by the local sheriff’s office informing the public of an odd animal rescue a deputy took part in – wrangling chickens. Video footage from the day shows the deputy – Deputy Lopez – chasing the chickens around a Colorado neighborhood before safely stowing them in the back of his patrol car until Animal Control could arrive. While this meant the chickens would survive another night, one question was still left unanswered – who was the owner?

According to an update in the case that was posted on January 20, the owner of the chickens is a 9-year-old girl named Maple. Maple had been raising the chickens – Pedro and Perry – for two years after getting them as chicks. The escape artists had gone missing the night before and after the family’s search for the birds was unsuccessful, they feared the worst.

Tides turned, however, when the family saw news about the deputy’s atypical mission, identifying the birds as the ones they had lost. At long last, the birds were reunited with Maple and the family’s hen, Pineapple.

The sheriff’s office thanked the community for helping to give this story a happy ending: “Thank you to everyone who helped make this reunion possible, wrote the sheriff’s office. “Stories like this remind us how much community matters.”

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