A runaway emu sparked a five hour rescue mission involving the police and RSPCA after it jumped over a fence and went on the run for a mile. Owner Jon Cardy, 54, was forced to cut short his first holiday in years after his pet emu Rodney escaped to go on an adventure of his own.
The 11-month-old bird jumped the fence at his home in Chedburgh, Suffolk, in the middle of the night on Thursday. Jon and his wife Laura, were taking their first holiday since the pandemic when they received a call from their pet-sitter at 6:30am saying Rodney was missing.
Without hesitation Jon jumped in his car and drove back from Northamptonshire to look for the fugitive bird - with the help of the RSPCA, RSPB and even the police. At around 11:30am he received a message on a community WhatsApp group, asking if someone had lost their bird, which he instantly recognised as Rodney.
