Idaho woman finds moose loose in her basement
A woman from Hailey, Idaho found a moose in her basement last weekend.
It all started around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, after Julie Emerick's barking dog woke her up. Emerick looked out her window and saw the animal.
Soon after, the moose — which officials estimate at around 600 pounds — fell into a window well. Then, it crashed through the window into the basement.
"Between my husband, the 911 operator and I, we were all like, 'Ok. Everybody is awake, right? ...This is really happening,'" Emerick tells As it Happens guest host Helen Mann.
Initially, officials tried to coax the moose upstairs. But, it wouldn't budge.
"If you ever had to have a moose in your house, this is the most polite moose you could ever imagine. She was quiet — with the exception of charging at the police officers a couple of times because they were trying to get her to go upstairs," says Emerick.
"She was mellow the entire time. For a good period of time, she actually laid down in the family room on the ground."
Hours later, an official from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game arrived at the house to sedate the moose. It took eight people to carry the moose up the stairs on a tarp and out of Emerick's house.
About 15 minutes later, the moose got up and ran away.
Besides leaving a bunch of droppings, the moose didn't cause any damage to Emerick's home.
By Sunday evening, she says, "It was done. It was all cleaned up. We all stood there sort of scratching our heads going, 'There was a moose in here this morning!'"
To hear more of Julie Emerick's story, listen to our full interview above.