“Yes, seriously.” The Hilliard Division of Police took to Facebook yesterday to alert locals of a road closure. This sort of thing happens all the time on I-270, Columbus, Ohio’s outerbelt. But it’s usually due to car accidents, not Highland cows.

“No bull.”

At 6:45 pm on November 17, police explained that 270 southbound from the Tuttle exit to the Cemetery Road ramp shut down. Drivers sat idling, most without any clue of the problem. An officer wearing a body cam walked between lanes, letting motorists know about Marigold, a “beautiful” but loose Highland cow.

Interestingly (well, at least to yours truly), I grew up driving this same stretch of 270. My dad’s shop, Auto Emporium, is in Hilliard. And while there were always cornfields in the area, we lived in a northwest suburb close to downtown.

Farm animals always existed far away from my neighborhood. But, The Ohio State University is an Ag school, after all. Leave downtown, and rural living takes over real quick.

Ultimately, the Columbus Division of Police arrived to fetch the cow via its mounted unit. (That’s formal department speak for ponies, folks.)

After a little more than an hour of chase total, Marigold the cow was secured and safe.

Turns out Marigold isn’t necessarily a local. The cow got loose from its trailer. Police cited the driver.

Holy cow, those are some big puns

I’d expect nothing less from a Facebook post that made fun of situation from the jump. Followers arrived with all kinds of bovine banter, and the cops jumped right in.

First, a viewer asked if Marigold was being held “without bale.” HPD replied, “actually she does have some hay and is happy about that.”

Dozens of puns followed:

“Was it put udder arrest??”

“Did you read its moo-randa rights?”

“He must have “herd” the cops telling him to moooove, so he had to hoof it out of there.”

“What happened… did the cow STEER into the wrong lane… perhaps the cow should have chosen the UDDER lane. Great work HPD!!!”

“Traffic is now mooooving.”

What strikes me most about the fun being had here is the sense that while Marigold caused a traffic jam, she really helped remind us Buckeyes that we’re still a cow town, through and through. And anyway, the number of comments citing how “purdy” the Highlander was far outnumbered any grumblings.