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Minn. Man Finds His AWOL Wallaby

CHAMPLIN, Minn. (AP) - Dave Carlson says the police in this north-metro suburb thought he was joking when he called to report that his wallaby went AWOL. "And then they wanted to know what a wallaby was," he said. "I explained it was like a kangaroo, but smaller."

Rachet, the 1 1/2-year-old wallaby, went missing recently from Carlson's backyard. Carlson believes someone let the animal out of its kennel, so Carlson called the cops.

He then did what any loving pet owner would do: He put missing marsupial fliers up in the neighborhood and posted a lost pet ad on Craigslist that said "LOST KANGAROO."

The text of the ad read: "Well, he's not a kangaroo but he is my pet wallaby. ... He looks just like a kangaroo but only about 2.5 ft tall and wearing a blue harness."

"He's such a great pet," said Carlson, who also owns two parrots, a dog and a cat. "He's very personable."

A day after Rachet disappeared, Champlin police called Carlson with good news: a wallaby had been spotted by a person waiting for a bus near Carlson's house.

Carlson said the caller told police, "I may need to go to a psych ward, but I think I saw a kangaroo go by."

Then, Carlson chased his wily wallaby for about 30 minutes.

"Every time I got close, he ran again," he said.

Eventually, Carlson nabbed Rachet.

"I didn't think I would ever see him again," said Carlson, who is keeping Rachet in the basement until he can secure the kennel. "He's extremely hard to catch. And when I did, I thought, 'Ahhhh, yes.'"