Vermont's Independent Voice
Browse News
Browse Arts + Life
Browse Food + Drink
Browse Cannabis
Browse Music
Browse Movies
Browse Events
Browse Classifieds
Browse Personals
Brooks Elder was taking his yellow lab, Scout, for a walk along a Burlington beach on March 6 when they came across something large and very, very smelly.
The longtime New North End resident has seen dead fish and birds on the shores of Lake Champlain before. But Elder was stunned to find what he thought was a dead cow. It was close to the waterline, not far from where the Winooski River empties into the lake. The beach just "wouldn't be enjoyable with a rotting carcass down there, especially in the spring," Elders observed.
Elders thought the problem would be easy to resolve. But what followed, he said, was a days-long trip down a rabbit hole of byzantine rules of animal disposal. Elder tried the city's departments of Public Works; Parks, Recreation & Waterfront; and the police. He also called the Vermont State Police, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, and the homeowners' association of the nearby Village at Northshore.
Most of the people he spoke with claimed their agencies lacked jurisdiction or the proper equipment to remove the carcass.
But city parks department employees did gamely try to drag the animal up to the path. "As they began to adjust the animal, they didn't feel it would stay intact," recounted parks maintenance and operations superintendent Deryk Roach. That, apparently, ended that.
Elder took matters into his own hands, literally. He posted to Front Porch Forum, asking for help. Eventually, Sean McDonough stepped forward. Last Friday, he and Elder used a tarp to drag the remains to the nearby bike path, where, they hoped, someone would pick it up.
Fish & Wildlife eventually came for the carcass. The department handles dead wildlife but not domesticated animals such as cows. Fortunately for Elder, he had misidentified the animal. Upon closer inspection, it was a deer, he said. Bleached white in places, it had some dark tufts of hair and, from a distance, resembled a Holstein.
RIP.
More By This Author
Speaking of...
Comments
Comments are closed.
Since 2014, Seven Days has allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we’ve appreciated the suggestions and insights, the time has come to shut them down — at least temporarily.
While we champion free speech, facts are a matter of life and death during the coronavirus pandemic, and right now Seven Days is prioritizing the production of responsible journalism over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor. Or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.
