The search for a wallaby pet named Rupert that went missing from a Monee yard on Tuesday is over, according to his owner.
Rupert was found just a few blocks away from his south suburban home in a neighbor’s garage and was “completely fine,” Rupert’s owner, Josie Hange said Saturday.
“Oh my God, I was so relieved. He had no injuries, no bugs, no nothing,” Hange said.
Although wallabies are skittish by nature and fast runners, Hange said she managed to catch the 2-foot, 45-pound pet with her own hands around 5 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s crazy, you turn your head for a second and boom. It can happen with a dog, it can happen with a cat,” she said.
Wallabies, native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, can be legally owned in Illinois. Hange, who has a license for Rupert, acquired him as a baby, and he now behaves like any other house pet, she said.
