Philadelphia Cow Escapes Manger Scene… Twice
No, you aren’t reading that headline wrong. Late last night, a 1,500 lb cow named “Stormy” escaped from her pen at an Old City church where she was starring in a nativity manger scene and meandered through the streets of Philadelphia, causing traffic delays and ridiculous antics with the baffled police. From what people can gather, Stormy first broke free of her containment at Old First Reformed United Church of Christ at 4th and Race Streets around 2 a.m. this morning. It took about fifteen minutes for the police to start receiving reports of a cavorting bovine on the loose.
When a cow named Stormy escaped from an Old City manger scene (not the one pictured, obviously), it was far from a “Silent Night” for Philadelphia police.
Authorities gleaned from reports that the cow was on 2nd and Market. The errant Stormy was eventually tracked to the southbound Interstate 95 ramp at Callowhill Street, police aid. From the police themselves, “madcap antics” ensued as the officers, untrained in dealing with perpetrators of the four-legged variety, attempted to corral and detain Stormy. Finally, Animal Control showed up and helped the cops get Stormy back to church where she belonged. All’s well that ends well, right?
Not quite.
By some oversight that both police and the owner of the cow couldn’t quite discern, Stormy escaped her pen AGAIN at around 6:30 a.m., four hours after the first escapade. This time, she ambled toward the Wyndham Hotel’s parking garage, where she made her way to the fourth floor. The garage charges $12/hour for parking, which led to great merriment on Twitter as commenters wondered if Stormy had her ticket validated. Again, Stormy was rounded up and packed into a horse trailer to be taken back to safety. Not willing to risk a third incident, Stormy was placed in a separate pen and will be replaced in the manger scene by a smaller, less nervy cow named Ginger. Growing up in the church myself, I’m pretty sure that none of the psalms or hymns about baby Jesus’ birth ever mentioned a runaway cow!
