A couple house-sitting in Pinebrook had a Valentine’s Day surprise when they discovered a moose had fallen through the window well into the basement. The female moose was in the house for a total of an hour.
Gabriele Goulet says it was about 7 am when they heard glass breaking in the basement.
“We were just sitting in the kitchen doing some work and we heard glass shattering and it was a sound that kept going, like the glass kept shattering. And, my fiancé ran down the stairs and was like get out of here, thinking it was a person breaking in. Then we got downstairs, and my fiancée, Tim was like oh my god, there’s a moose. It’s falling in the basement. So, we like saw, essentially, the butt of the moose falling into the basement.”
Goulet says the window well is covered with a grate but thinks the combined weight of the moose and all the snow may have caused it to collapse. They were worried the moose would make its way up the stairs.
“Goulet remarks that it was a huge female moose. I am sure it was very heavy and obviously, we have had a lot of snow. I’m sure the moose just didn’t see it and thought it was stepping onto solid ground and it just fell through. And, my fiancé stayed in the stairs going to the basement to make sure the moose couldn’t come up because it’s all open. There are no doors or anything.”
Summit County Sherriff’s Lieutenant Andrew Wright says once they formulated a plan, they were able to coax it out the garage door which is on the same level as the basement.
“The moose had cut itself, Wright says, on the broken glass window so there were some bloody footprints throughout the carpet area of the basement. And then, from what I understand the deputies and the wildlife officers started banging on some of the other intact windows in an effort to startle the moose to get it moving, which it worked and the moose ran out the garage door and wandered off into the wild.
The wildlife officials, Sheriff’s office and Goulet say the moose seemed to have only superficial cuts that were not life threatening.
“Actually they said it looked like cuts on the ears, just from falling through. Goulet says the moose ran out of here and it wasn’t limping or anything. After it ran out, I walked up to the deck and saw it trotting down the street away from the house.”
Goulet says a disaster crew showed up quickly, cleaning the glass and boarding up broken window.
“We’ll have to obviously replace a carpet. Otherwise, there really isn’t much damage to the house And, I am so thankful, we were home when this happened. One, we have two cats that we absolutely adore, and I would be so sad if they ran out. And, also, what would have happened if the moose was in here by itself, running around the house. That could have been a horrible outcome.”
Goulet says when she called her parents, her mother was mostly concerned about the moose and if it was hurt. Lieutenant Wright says people in Summit County love animals, wild or otherwise, and he thinks that’s a good thing.
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