ORIGINAL 10:38 AM REPORT: Dean just shared that photo via Facebook – as we were about to run out to follow up on e-mail that Pat sent about the same thing: A “cow” afloat off Alki Point. As to who put it there and why – don’t know yet; do you? ADDED 12:24 PM: Just back from a reconnaissance mission for a closer look. You have to be near Alki Point Lighthouse to really see it – or near the “$1.3 million teardown,” where we zoomed in for some bobbing-bovine video:
It’s just west of the most famous Alki Point raft, the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft.
9:23 PM UPDATE: Just got word from former co-worker David Rose, anchor at Q13 FOX News, that they had a crew over here this afternoon who got to the bottom of it. He says this is the story they were told:
(A nearby resident) built the cow out of fiberglass and it was on his back deck for years. He and his neighbor, Jacqueline Garnett, decided the cow was lonely and needed a pasture to graze in. Since she had grass in her yard, she took it to her yard. After a while, she moved it up to her front fence, decided it didn’t belong there. Then, they decided it would be fun to have the cow drift over to West Point. But then, they decided the Coast Guard might not be happy so they decided to anchor the cow to a buoy. They put rainboots on the cow to keep its feet warm and dry and put a life-jacket on it to keep it compliant with boating regulations. She told our photog she’s never gotten any milk from the cow, but with the rough seas, all she would get is buttermilk :)
If you see this before 10 pm, we’re guessing you will catch some version of it on Q13’s newscast. We appreciate getting the info from David; they found out about the story by seeing it on WSB, so a nice return favor! (And thanks yet again to our morning tipsters, Pat and Dean!)
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