OGDEN — It was a quiet summer morning in a peaceful neighborhood with not a lot going on, until an unexpected visitor arrived at the home of Mike and Julie Maggiora on the corner of Polk Avenue and 7th Street.
Mike was at work and Julie was at home Thursday with her daughters when a neighbor stopped to let them know a moose had just jumped the fence around their yard.
The family was concerned about their Chihuahua, Diesel, who was also in the backyard. When one of the daughters opened the door to the backyard to call the dog, the dog came running — and the moose charged toward the door as well.
“It was just inches from coming through the door into the kitchen when it stopped,” Julie said.
With Diesel safe inside, a call was made to the Division of Wildlife Resources. The family said it took about an hour for DWR employees to arrive in three trucks.
While they waited, a crowd of neighbors had gathered to see the moose and snap pictures as it hung out in the Maggiora’s backyard, tipping over a barbecue grill and nosing at the trees and pond, but ignoring a full wading pool.
Mike and Julie said the DWR handled the situation well. The animal was sedated, loaded it into a trailer and relocated in Price. They said DWR also helped the family clean up parts of the backyard following the moose’s somewhat chaotic visit.
When the full-grown female moose tipped over after being sedated, it demolished a small trailer used to haul wood. Mike said he hopes the trailer will be covered by homeowners insurance.
Mike also said the coincidental part of the moose invasion was that he and his daughter had spent time researching moose about two weeks earlier. They learned that a moose can jump about 8 feet high, which is much higher than the fence around their yard.
Julie said it was clear from footprints that the moose had come down 7th Street.
The Maggiora home is just a few blocks below the mountains on the East Bench.
The Maggioras say they hope the moose will do well in its new surroundings.
Comments