CONNEAUT TOWNSHIP — Trina Beitz’s dog is enjoying his new playmate, but the Conneaut Township resident is hoping the owner of the emu that wandered into her yard Monday will come and take it home.

Beitz was mowing the aforementioned yard at around noon when her Labrador retriever got to his feet, she recalled. With the hair standing up on the back of his neck, he started barking. She turned around and the emu was right there. “He must have wandered up from the swamp,” she said, quickly explaining that although she has come to refer to the bird as “he,” she has absolutely no idea what the gender of this particular emu might be.

“It scared me at first,” she continued. “I ran over and grabbed my neighbor lady and we rounded up some neighbors.” Together, they corralled the emu into a fenced-in area in the back yard.

A native of Australia, the emu is the second-tallest bird in the world, exceeded in standing height only by the ostrich. Reaching more than 6 feet tall, the emu is a flightless, brown, soft-feathered bird that can travel great distances at a fast trot and sprint at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

This emu has made itself right at home. “It’s very friendly,” Beitz said. “My kids love it.”

Recovering from the shock of their initial introduction, the emu and the Lab are having a great time playing together. “They were chasing each other — he wasn’t threatening my dog or anything.”

According to Debbie Myers, coordinator for Crawford County Animal Response Team, Beitz is the third person the team has heard from since Saturday, when two people spotted an emu on Beaver Center Road. “One man attempted to catch it and it got away,” she said.

Because the team, known as Crawford CART, only formally activates if there’s an emergency or a disaster, she’s been working behind the scenes ever since to locate the owner, Myers explained. Anyone missing an emu standing about five feet tall should call her at 425-7079.

This emu doesn’t seem to have any identifying markings, but it does look like it’s been hit with a couple of pellets within the past few days, Beitz said. “It looks like it’s been nicked in the neck,” she said. “The wounds are healed and don’t look infected, but I believe somebody tried to shoot at it.”

As for the future, Beitz is hoping the owner will contact Myers. “I’d really like to find the owner,” she said late Tuesday afternoon, “but if the owner doesn’t show up, I suppose we’ve inherited an emu.” Her kids and dog, she added, would be delighted.

Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com