A cow was laid to rest last Thursday on the property of Addison Township Supervisor Bob Koski after meeting its demise in Lakeville Lake.
A kayaker, Craig Belmonte, called the township Sunday evening to report the sunken cow, which was located in about three feet of water on the north end of the lake in a cove between Rockwood Ct. and Island Lane.
Building inspector Mike Boisvert decided to take it upon himself to have the cow removed, but he didn’t know where to start.
After not getting any answers from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, he put a call into Larry Obrecht, the division manager for the Oakland County Animal Shelter, who in turn put him in touch with the Marine Division of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept.
‘He’s the one who put us all on the right track,? he said.
When Boisvert called them and reported he ‘had a cow,? though, he wasn’t sure he’d be taken seriously.
‘I thought they were going to hang up because I giggled,? he said, adding that everyone involved got a kick out of the interesting situation.
Last Thursday, deputies Mel Schmittel and Dave Luke from the Marine Division dropped their motor boat into the lake and towed the cow back to the access site off Lakeville Rd.
‘I’m glad those guys had a sense of humor, because the smell was terrible,? Boisvert said.
Addison resident Anson Rowley and his son Chris graciously offered the use of their backhoe to pull the cow out of the water and onto their flatbed truck. Pat and Glenn Eisenhardt also donated their time in helping.
Supervisor Koski offered to have the mammal buried on his farm.
‘It’s nice that there was so many community people who wanted to help,? he said.
According to deputy Brad Teague at the Addison Twp. OCSD substation, a man who lived off Rochester Rd. reported his new cow missing a couple months ago.
‘I think that’s the one,? he said, although nothing’s been confirmed.
Although they’ll never know for sure, Teague estimates the cow must have wandered out onto the frozen lake and fell through.
‘It’s kind of weird that it would end up on the ice and nobody would notice it,? he said.