I'm reminded of Harold and Maude:
Maude: Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much.
Jack the kangaroo is stuck here, along with his owners, Larry and Diana, and a goat.
Posted on 11/19/2008 6:17:43 AM PST by Daffynition
ST. PETERSBURG - This has been a hellish vacation for Larry and Diana Moyer of Beaver Dam, Wis.
Today they were just about ready to pack up their pampered kangaroo and crippled goat and head home.
The couple, who run Ricky's White Tails and Exotics farm in the cold climes of Wisconsin, brought two of their favorite living things along for the Sunshine State road trip, but the fun times have been few and really hard to find.
As Diana let a leashed Jack, the kangaroo, munch on some dried grass at Fort De Soto Park this afternoon, she told her woeful story.
First, the aging recreational vehicle broke down three times on the way south.
"We should have brought the other one," she said. "It's a little older, but it runs pretty good."
A new alternator fixed the problem, and the Moyers arrived in Pinellas County, where Larry, 57, had a minor stroke and wound up in the hospital for three days.
"He has them all the time," Diana said. Larry, wearing jeans, suspenders and a "Wanted: John Dillinger -- Public Enemy No. 1" T-shirt, just nodded his head in agreement.
On Sunday, out of the hospital and looking for some relaxation, the couple pulled off on a spit of shoreline just south of the South Pinellas Bayway toll plaza to do a little fishing and watch the sunset. That's when a short circuit in a fuse box ignited the motor home. Within an hour, all that was left was a charred hulk.
Diana was hospitalized for smoke inhalation but released a few hours later. All their wallets, identification and money went up in flames, and the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross got them a hotel room.
As the Moyers' luck would have it, the motel allowed goats but not kangaroos.
So they got Jack and Edward into the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center in Seminole.
Today they strolled around the burned-out wreck of their RV, waiting for an insurance agent to arrive, waist deep in misery and anxious to get back on the road home, where, even though it's cold, their luck has got to change. They bought an old Volvo for $1,500 and hope it will get them there.
Unfazed by all this are Jack the kangaroo and Edward the goat. As their owners pulled the Volvo up next to the RV, Edward, who was injured in a car accident 13 years ago and needs a cart to get around because his front legs are useless, blinked at the sun out of the back window of the car, taking in the blue sky and sparkling Gulf of Mexico. Jack was nestled in Diana's lap as she drove, like a 60-pound Yorkshire terrier.
"They are like family," Larry said. "They stay in the house with us at night."
Traveling from Wisconsin to Florida is an undertaking in itself, and when you bring along your favorite marsupial, it gets even more involved. The Moyers had to check with every state they drove through to see whether they had to register their exotic animal.
"Every state where his feet touch the ground," said Diane Moyer, 47, "we had to get a permit," including Florida.
"Kentucky," she said. "We couldn't even go through Kentucky. It's a no-exotics state."
Two-year-old Jack, who is a registered service animal for Diana, helping her get through some recent troubled, emotional times, even "goes to the movies with us," Larry said. He sits there and eats popcorn and everything."
I'm reminded of Harold and Maude:
Maude: Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much.
Jack the kangaroo is stuck here, along with his owners, Larry and Diana, and a goat.
Holy crap!
I thought this was some sort of parody until I saw the photos.
Now I’m not so sure...
“He has them all the time” RE: strokes is the quote that made me think this might not be a real story.
From the Fox link above:
Larry explained how Jack saved his life a year ago when he had a heart attack.
"He went and got my wife and woke her up in the middle of the night so she could get me to the hospital. So he saved my life," said Moyer.
Diana and Jack shopping ....
Did you notice that these people got through this ordeal without one government handout! I think that's what makes it news--LOL!
Hmmm...I think I would of voted for the Kangaroo over McClame or Oblahblah. The goat would of been a better vp than Biden.
ping!
I'm all for people doing their own thing. However, Kind of hard to generate sympathy for them when they do their own thing and it jumps up and bites them.
I've never even *heard* of someone with a kangaroo for a pet. Or, a "wheelchair-assisted goat".
I want to take that 'roo out for a beer and movie with popcorn.
Jack was nestled in Diana's lap as she drove, like a 60-pound Yorkshire terrier.I certainly hope that wasn't the way she was driving. Yorkshire terriers are terrible drivers. If you've got the choice, always let the labrador drive. :=)
Note the leg shackles... probably to keep him from “gutting” the bag boy at the check-out counter.
bookmark
Nicholas Cage should star in the Cohen Brothers movie version.....
There are reports of a new problem in Australia. Some of the kangaroos have developed a thirst for revenge against the traffic that keeps knocking them down. Drivers have reported that they'll pass a herd of roos that are hopping along peacefully, but as soon as they've passed them, the roos suddenly change direction, and veer right towards the vehicle. The driver then has to drive as quickly as possible to escape the rampaging marsupials. Drivers are being urged to keep an eye on their veer-roo mirror at all times.
OMG - this is too funny for words!
How did the goat get a driver's license in the first place?
The only Yorkie we ever had would not stoop to driving. She was a princess and would nag the driver into making sure she was completely comfie. She would think the car was too hot- too cold, nag the driver into adjusting temp. She would nag for a window to be let down a hair- adjust the pillow she rode on, turn down the radio- her demands were endless. We named her Miss Daisy and said we were “driving Miss Daisy.” Miss Daisy was found wandering the streets lost by one of my daughters and controlled our house & car for 8 months before we located her owner. He was thrilled to have his “Minnie” back and we still miss Daisy.
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