
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 4, 1995                   TAG: 9510040080
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RON BROWN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COW GONE 'BERSERK' SHOT TO DEATH

A 1,000-pound cow was shot to death Monday afternoon by a Botetourt County deputy just moments after the animal broke out of its pen at the Roanoke Hollins Stockyard.

Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly said the animal ran out onto U.S. 11 about 4 and headed toward the Waterfalls Lake subdivision, which straddles the Roanoke and Botetourt county lines.

"She was absolutely berserk," Kelly said, adding that the cow had torn down several fences during its rampage.

Deputy Nelson Tolley and Animal Control Officer Lisa Wine decided the animal could not be stopped and was a danger to neighborhood children.

The cow was charging anything that got in its path, Wine said.

After getting children indoors, Tolley decided to shoot the animal with his shotgun, aiming in the direction of an open field with a hill in the background.

Stockyard employees also asked that the animal be killed before it did any more damage.

Tolley had to fire twice at the animal before it was killed.

by CNB