Cattle Rustling in the Not So Wild West

You might think that cattle rustling is a thing of the past here in the wild West, but you would be wrong. It is alive and thriving in Alameda, a small island community just off the coast of Oakland.

Several years ago we were hired by Kathy of Balloon Mania http://www.partypop.com/Vendors/3006626.htm to install a herd of cows to welcome her daughter home. The set up went without a hitch, until the phone rang just after noon. It was Kathy, she had glanced outside and noticed the herd appeared to be thinning a bit. Occasionally one cow wanders away with the help of neighbors or passers by, so we weren’t too surprised by this report of bovine wanderlust. However, this time it appeared that there was a stampede underway. By her count, 8 or 9 cows were already at large. She recommended we come get the rest of the herd while there were some left. Since she runs a business out of her home, she wasn’t able to stay in the yard riding shotgun on the rest of the display and by the time we arrived almost half the herd had strayed. If she hadn’t been home to notice and call us, the rustlers may have made off with all of them.

Kathy told us she would keep a look out for any cows grazing in her neighborhood so we could come round them up, but the rustlers apparently drove the cattle to another territory. We still scout the yards in Alameda looking for our missing livestock. “Round ‘em up! Head ‘em home! Ye ha!”