THE ROOSTER IS LOOSE: 1920 Commons cries 'fowl' at widl rooster

For breakfast at the Class of 1920 Dining Commons yesterday: waffles, cereal -- and a live rooster. Employees at the dining hall are used to seeing poultry daily, but the live rooster found running around the Commons yesterday morning just wasn't on the menu. The employees first discovered the animal -- which parked itself under a table near the entrance of the hall -- when they arrived at the building at 7 a.m. The lost cock is believed to be the result of a practical joke, Dining Services Director Bill Canney said. Commons Manager John Henkel said the rooster was probably left in Chats last night. He added that he is "astounded" that Chats security guards and patrons didn't notice anyone leaving the bird in the building. "How do you walk in and not be seen with a live rooster and leave it there?" he asked. But if the story sounds unbelievable to you, don't worry. Staff in the Dining Services office didn't believe it at first either. Henkel said the office staff laughed at him and hung up the phone when he called for help, forcing the confused manager to call the Veterinary School as well as the New Bolton Campus in Kennett Square, Pa. But the advice the New Bolton Campus veterinarians gave him seemed slightly questionable. "They told me to come up behind it, reach under it, and grab its legs," Henkel said. "I said, 'Come on, doctor, I am not touching the underside of a chicken.' I mean, I work for Penn and I'm willing to do a lot of things, but I am not putting my hand under a chicken." Upon further inspection, Henkel discovered that the bird was actually a rooster, rather than a chicken -- and was warned to keep his distance because roosters tend to scratch violently when provoked. The rooster was then coaxed into a cardboard box which would serve as its temporary home by a brave member of the Residential Maintenance Pest Control team. But the rooster's tale doesn't end there. Although officials from the American Society for the Protection and Care of Animals promised to come to its rescue, as of last night the animal remained homeless except for a box in the student office at Commons. "I just hope we don't have somebody's pet rooster," Canney said.

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