Rooster Shows Up At Auto Shop One Day And Decides He Works There Now

[catbyte]

“We can't believe the attention Earl is getting.”

BY CAITLIN JILL ANDERS

It was just a normal day last summer at R and R Garage in North Carolina when a rooster randomly wandered over to the garage, and didn’t seem to have any plans to leave. The employees assumed he’d been abandoned and began feeding him leftovers from the shop fridge, but when they took a long weekend, they sort of figured he would move on to another spot.

When they all returned, though, he was still there, so they named him Earl and he’s been the shop rooster ever since.



Earl sleeps in a nearby tree at night, unless the weather is bad, and then everyone makes sure he’s safely inside for the night. Every morning, Earl eagerly greets his fellow employees as they arrive at work for the day, and he’s fallen into a daily routine around the shop that everyone has come to know and love.



“He comes running when the first guy comes in to open up for the day,” Joe Gallo, co-owner of R and R Garage, told The Dodo. “He gets his cup of scratch, then wanders the shop looking for any bugs that may be around. He gets up under all the toolboxes and workbenches looking for spiders and anything else he can find.”



After his morning breakfast hunt, Earl likes to follow all of the employees around the garage and hang out with them. He definitely seems to think he’s just one of the guys working for the garage, and, at this point, he kind of is.

“He will come up in the shop and usually lay down and sleep under the car you’re working on or in a corner,” Gallo said. “He doesn't care about loud noises or people walking by. He will even sleep in front of the office door and we've tripped over him a few times.”



Earl seems to have no idea that, most of the time, he’s kind of in the way …



… and everyone at the shop has just come to accept that part of their daily job is working around their rooster mascot.



Earl has been “working” at the shop for so long now that he’s become a bit of a local celebrity, and everyone at the shop has wholeheartedly embraced their little feathered coworker. They’re even working on changing their logo and getting shirts made to include him, to show him that he’s officially part of the team.

“We can't believe the attention Earl is getting ... it’s the town gossip now,” Gallo said. “We do have customers that bring other friends or family to see Earl when they come pick up their vehicles.”



No one is quite sure where Earl came from or why he chose the R and R Garage to be his home, but everyone there is so glad that he did, and now definitely considers him part of their extended family.

https://www.thedodo.com/on-the-farm/rooster-works-at-autoshop

[Dem2theMax]

1. I just love this story.

It brought a huge grin to my face. Good for Earl! I hope he lives a long, long time.

[sprinkleeninow]

2. Oh, this touched my heart! 💛 eom

[burrowowl]

3. Is he potty trained

or does he leave poop on the tools etc.?

[MissB]

14. He poops wherever whenever

Because you can’t potty train a chicken.

[sandensea]

4. I'd like to think he did in a past life

Perhaps he died young, and had fond memories of the place. We go on, you know.

Very touching little story. Thanks for posting!

[More_Cowbell]

5. "Earl eagerly greets his fellow employees"

TOO cute.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. And there's more to this story (with a cute video).

From Powells Point, N.C. ....

North Carolina garage has a new celebrity mascot: Earl the rooster
By Jeff Hampton, Staff writer
Apr 18, 2019

Link: https://pilotonline.com/news/local/article_8b541d6e-611b-11e9-adcd-6b2b8cf4fb21.html

(snip)

He sits near the cars and watches the guys work, gets grease on his feathers and gets in the way at times. He sleeps with his head tucked under his wing in the shade of the shop. Occasionally he poops in the walking area, and they have to watch their step before cleaning it up. "It's like having a dog," Kenan said. "We haven't figured out how to house-break him."

He's had a few close calls since moving in. Once he parked under a Mustang, observing the work while it was up on the rack. He did not move when it was time to bring it down, until at the last minute he bolted just as it was about the touch the floor. He nearly got squashed, Gallo said.

Earl takes his salary in chickenfeed and gets bonuses of left-over French fries and caramel popcorn!

Thanks, Catbyte. Takes me back to the country......

[oasis]

7. Great story. Thanks

[ProudLib72]

8. Bet he's handy with a crowbar

[BigmanPigman]

9. If Sarah Fuckubee walks into that shop I

hope it pecks at her forcing her to flee like the Red Hen Restaurant.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212097045

[Haggis for Breakfast]

10. It is INDEED quite special when one of Mother Nature's creatures take a particular shine to you and

decides that your company is so stimulating that they want to hang around and be part of the gang. Y'all should consider yourself special and rise to the occasion of having Earl around. I see a wonderful future there for all of you.

[MosheFeingold]

11. My daughter-in-law keeps chickens

And a couple of roosters.

They're very social, bit like dogs. I try to take a little hike (OK, a walk in the woods) every day and the black rooster follows me out about 50 yards, stops like he's hit a fence, crows at me for leaving, then goes back.

Chides me for leaving and a bit mad for a while after I've come back.

Doesn't care when we get in a car and drive away, but if we walk away, very distressed.

[ChazInAz]

12. Did no one notice?

He's obviously related to the co-owner Joe Gallo!

[ProudLib72]

13. I noticed! But I was too busy coming up with a stupid joke about a "crowbar"

Joe Gallo says, "Hey Earl, I'm listening to the carb. Can you feather the throttle a little?"

[KayF]

19. Earl and Joe Gallo

the garage is only one of their businesses

[CaptainTruth]

15. I used to have a white crested black polish rooster. He loved to snuggle.

When I would sit on the back patio he would hop on my lap & tuck his head under my arm & snuggle while I petted him. If you hand raise them from chicks they can really become affectionate.

I named him Harry because with the big white crest he looked hairy.

He looked just like this:

[link:|

[catbyte]

16. Awesome! 😍

His "do" looks like Tina Turner, circa 1984.

[Bantamfancier]

17. OK. I'm going to take a crack at IDing this guy.

It's hard to tell from the pictures. If I had a closer look at the comb, I would know for sure.

That's a Sicilian Buttercup. Probably right at 2 years old.


Not a great representation of the breed (his coloring is a little off) but a handsome guy all the same.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. Shouldn't they get him a little more secure sleeping quarters?

My father in law’s neighbors decided to get chickens for their kids to take care of - kind of pets and also to learn responsibility.

My father in law, being an old country boy from Missouri, warned the parents the coop they built wasn’t going to be enough. Within a couple days the chickens were gone. All that was left was some feathers and blood. The kids got a lesson... on the circle of life.

[red dog 1]

20. K&R, thanks for posting, catbyte

Perhaps he chose the R & R garage because R stands for Rooster?