For sale: House-broken bison seeks new home on the range
ARGYLE, Texas — Just across from the Denton Country Club, onlookers will find homes neatly tucked on 2- to 3-acre lots.
On one of those properties, it might be tough to miss a 1,000-pound bison named Bullet.
And when the 8-year-old female cow isn't escaping onto the golf course, it's likely because she is content at the Schoeve household, where she is literally one of the family.
"When she is hot and sweaty, she'll come in and lay on the couch," Karen Schoeve said. "No, I'm kidding — kind of. I mean, she comes in the house."
On any morning or afternoon, one is just as likely to find Bullet strolling down the hallway as they are outside in the corral.
She is part greeter, part eater and wholly domesticated.
"She watches the fish tank for a while. She doesn't mess up a thing, and walks around very neatly like she belongs in the house," Schoeve said. "She has never gone to the bathroom [in the house], either."
The Schoeve's plan to put Bullet up for sale, though, as part of a plan to give the aging buffalo a better home on the range.
"I just think she deserves better — better space, bigger grassland," Schoeve said, almost in tears at the thought of losing her friend. "I just think it's best for her."
for Bullet has drawn dozens of inquires. People might have been roped in by the part of the listing that read, "Bullet is famous. She was featured in the children's book Heaven is for Animals by Nancy Tillman."
A camp for autistic children is thinking over the purchase, Schoeve told WFAA-TV, but no offer has been made.
In the meantime, Karen, Bullet and the rest of the family are spending some final warm Texas evenings together both inside and outside of the home.
Follow Todd Unger on Twitter: @ToddWFAA8