This tale is more than a little hairy.

Two emus have been spotted in Dover this past month. The first was accounted for and has since returned home, but the second is a bit wilder than the other.

Northern York County Regional police said they caught the bird on Tuesday, but once again, it has gone rogue. 

Farm owner Cheryl Dinges’ love of emus knows no bounds or pen fences, so when an emu in her flock went missing, she acted quickly.  

“She collected her emu, returned it back home, no problem. Eleven days later in the same area, we get calls for another stray emu,” police Lt. Gregg Anderson said.

Several days later, another emu turned up, puzzling police and neighbors like Shannon Torres, whose dog, Diesel, had a toy stolen by the wild bird. 

“He came around the porch and I yelled out, ’emu!'” Shannon said. 

After close to two weeks on the lam, the emu could run, but it couldn’t fly. 

“Slowly, calmly, [the officer] walks it to what he knows is the emu farm, and then the emu walks with him, follows him. He opens the gate, and they’re able to corral the emu,” Anderson said. 

The emu wasn’t corralled for long. 

“Well, we caught it, brought it back here, and it took off again,” Dinges said. 

Dinges said emus mate between November and April, which can lead to some runaway brides. 

“When the boys go after the girls, the girls have nowhere to go but up over the fence,” Dinges said. 

So, that’s right. An emu is on the loose once again in York County. Dinges said there’s special protocol if you see one. 

“All we do is go up and show them shiny stuff, and if you grab ahold of their neck like this, then you got them. You don’t have to do it tight,” Dinges said. 

Dinges said she wants the renegade bird to join her family on the farm, and she will welcome it with open wings if it ever decides to stick around.