Shoe Pond in Beverly, Massachusetts, became a local attraction after a gray seal made his home there.
The cagey seal, dubbed Shoebert, seems to have left the sea in September, traveling to the pond by river and drain pipes.
Firefighters and wildlife experts used boats and nets to try to capture Shoebert, but the effort was futile.
Luckily, Shoebert left the pond the next morning, walked across the parking lot to the police station and turned himself in.
The entire midnight police shift and a few firefighters managed to get Shoebert corralled and transported to an aquarium, where he was to get a health check before his release back into the sea, according to the Associated Press.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
