You haven’t seen this animal before at the Fair & Rodeo. He’s friendly

Allen the emu got all the way to the fitting championships at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo.

But owner Elizabeth Sandy said it’s the emu’s personality, not looks, that’s winning the most people over.

The 19-year-old has lots of experience showing animals like rabbits, guinea pigs and poultry at the fair.

But Sandy said that for her sixth and final year, she wanted to leave an impression.

She said she thinks Allen is the first emu to ever set foot on the fairgrounds, let alone compete in a 4-H competition.

“You don’t see emus very often so it’s definitely more like a shock factor,” she said. “Our neighbors didn’t know we had an emu for the longest time, and they asked what the big chicken was in our yard.”

Not a joke

The idea of bringing an emu started as a joke with the 4-H poultry superintendent— or at least what he thought was a joke, Sandy said.

When she actually sent him a picture of her with her new baby emu, he agreed she could show it as long as she had a cage.

“Ask for forgiveness rather than permission,” she said.

Emus aren’t high maintenance, Sandy said, requiring just a little special care.

Since there was no precedent for showing an emu anyway, she just prepared Allen like she would a chicken.

The duo got a callback to the grand championships round for poultry fitting Tuesday.

A social bird

Allen is a real charmer, Sandy said. Fairgoers have been enamored by him, and he is loving the attention.

She said he is fine to pet since the most he can do is peck.

“He is the cuddliest bird ever,” she said. “He likes people and he likes to socialize.”

People will be able to see Allen all week at the poultry barn until he is auctioned off Friday.

And Sandy said she will be sad to see him go.

“I will probably bawl my eyes out, I love this bird so much,” she said.

▪ Allen isn’t the only exotic animal at the fair— Dustin’s Top Notch Camel Rides is in the space between the rodeo arena and the VIP parking lot. They have three camels there all week long; rides are $10.

This story was originally published August 22, 2019 at 5:15 AM.