Esperanza Fire-Surviving Bull Returned to Amazed Owner
Riverside County Animal Services officers recovered a Texas longhorn bull today. And not just any old Texas longhorn bull.
The team of officers (Lesley Huennekens, Jon Wayne and Amy Farrell), had been working on the bull sighting since midnight along Lamb Canyon Road south of Interstate 10.
Officers later learned that the bull had been missing since the Esperanza fire of October 2006.
"This is like found money, sitting in the pocket of those shorts that you haven't worn for two years," said the owner of the bull, a Banning resident. Media reps can contact John Welsh of the Riverside County Animal Services Department for owner contact information.
The breeding bull is valued at roughly $800.
More than 40,000 acres burned during the arson-caused Esperanza Fire and five firefighters perished trying to protect a property in the Twin Pines area.
The fast-moving fire that started in the early-morning hours left many livestock owners with only the choice to let their animals escape as best they could.
"This just goes to show you the resiliency of this bull," said the owner, who estimated 20 of his livestock died during the Esperanza Fire's wrath.
Animal Control Officer Lesley Huennekens roped the bull in the early-morning hours, but the frightened bull managed to elude her. It was later spotted at a dairy farm not too far from Soboba Road in the San Jacinto area.
"He's not a nasty bull at all," Huennekens said. "He's a good-tempered guy. When we pulled the trailer alongside him, he jumped right in. He was done being a drifter."