Pets. We all know and love them. Dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, fish… but chickens? Yes, chickens. Hannah Tonseth is a former chicken owner. She does not live on a farm, she lives in a suburban neighborhood in Oakdale and is a North High student. So how did she get this chicken? What did she think of it? What did her family end up doing with it? Let’s find out.

This story starts with Hannah’s father, Don spending some time outside in the evening with neighbors. They thought they heard what sounds like a rooster, what Tonseth calls a “ghost chicken.” They named this “ghost chicken” Bruce Lee. One night, Hannah’s mother, Kristina found a chicken tied their front door with a shoelace that reads “My name is Bruce.” Interesting enough, none of the neighbors or anyone confessed to leaving him there. Until later at a gathering with neighbors, they in fact found out that Bruce was given to them as a joke. Their neighbor was shocked that they kept him.

Tonseth was around twelve or thirteen years old at the time of getting Bruce. Her first impression of him was she was confused. Tonseth states she “didn’t know what we were doing.” At the beginning of his life, Bruce was friendly. He would let people pick him up and he liked to sit on people, wherever he pleases. Bruce was very interactive with his family.  

The Tonseth’s owned Bruce for approximately two years. Hannah believes he was about four years old when he was left on their doorstep, so he lived about six years. If ever prompted however, Tonseth would not own a chicken again. She says “it’s a lot of work” because Bruce had lived outside, unlike how having a cat or dog would be. My final question to Hannah had to ask what other people thought of her owning a chicken. “Everyone thought I was crazy!” She says. People that hadn’t visited her house thought she lived on a farm. Lots of people, (including myself) were left shocked receiving the news of their new pet. Although a chicken isn’t a pet you hear of everyday, it’s definitely an experience that the Tonseth’s won’t ever forget.