Rebecca Martin was running errands in Athens, OH, Tuesday when she heard a knocking noise coming from her engine. Concerned, she pulled into a Walmart parking lot and lifted the hood. It turns out the noise she heard was coming from a stowaway groundhog.
Below is the article as it appeared on the WXIN-TV Channel 59 website.
Knocking under Ohio woman’s hood not engine gremlins but stowaway groundhog
By Associated Press
10:23 AM EDT, May 27, 2010
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman needed animal control, not a mechanic, when it turned out the thumping under her car’s hood was coming from a stowaway groundhog.
Rebecca Martin says she heard the noise Tuesday while running errands with other family members in Athens in southeast Ohio.
When they pulled over in a Walmart parking lot and lifted the hood, Martin says up popped one of the largest groundhogs she’d ever seen. It then choose to burrow in near the engine, so 911 was called.
Athens County Dog Warden Jeff Koons responded, and it took him more than 5 minutes to get the critter to come out. When it finally did, it scurried across Martin’s feet and eluded Koons for another half-hour hiding under cars. He captured the groundhog and released it in a rural area.
Information from: The Athens Messenger, http://www.athensmessenger.com/.