By Colby Dunn
News Writer

Madison's newly christened Town Park played host to its second event of the year Tuesday, Jan. 26, although this early-morning get-together was, officials say, not hosted by the city, but appears to be a spontaneous bovine gathering attended by six local dairy cows.

Officers found the bovine residents capping off a night on the town in the park, apparently awaiting a ride back to their home pasture on Old Buckhead Road.

"They were laying out there in the park, taking it easy," said Curtis Strange, the cows' owner, who brought along a trailer to give them a lift back home.

Officers got calls about the carousing cows starting around 4:40 Tuesday morning, when the ladies allegedly started their night seeking to take in some culture at the Madison Morgan Cultural Center.

Perhaps deterred by being a few days early for the Alice and Wonderland puppet performance, they went searching for sustenance in the form of pizza, according to the trail of clues the lively livestock left behind them.

An hour later, either full of Italian goodness and seeking a post-feast nap, or tired out after a night on the town, they reportedly settled in Town Park and awaited round-up by police, city employees and their owner.

Madison police chief Travis Stapp said that, while they took in most of the town, wandering far from their usual haunts on Old Buckhead Road, they were polite, if unorthodox, tourists.

"When I came to work this morning, I didn't expect to see cows in the city park," he said, "but they didn't do any damage to anything."

Strange said that, while they've taken shorter trips to neighboring Cedar Lakes subdivision, this was the first big outing for the livestock, a mix of Jersey and Holsteins.

"That's the first time they've ever made it to town," he said, noting that they flattened a fence getting their party started.
City manager David Nunn said that the city wasn't too bothered by the animals' meanderings.

"They left a little evidence, but they didn't bother anything," he said. "They just settled in a nice spot and waited for their owner to come and pick them up."

Nunn didn't say whether the city would be using the excursion as an opportunity to attract more bovine tourists, and there don't, as yet, seem to be any cattle conventions on the Cultural Center's calendar.

As of press time, the cows in question were unavailable for comment, although there are unconfirmed reports that they have spent the day in their pasture, undoubtedly recovering from their late-night antics.