For some reason, the folks over at Chick-fil-A really love their cows. Every July, as a way to encourage the public to eat more poultry, the Atlanta-based fried chicken chain hosts “Cow Appreciation Day,” where families come dressed in black and white spots and eat free sandwiches for a few hours.
And while every day millions of birds are battered and sandwiched between a couple buttery biscuits, whatever you do, don’t mess with the cows—not on Chick-fil-A’s watch, anyway.
According to Fox 10, a 24-foot, 350-pound inflatable cow, used to convince customers to “Eat Mor Chikin,” was stolen from a Tempe Chick-fil-A following an Arizona State University football game. Phil Thomas, the owner of the franchise, was so distraught over the crime on Saturday that he offered a year’s worth of free chicken sandwiches to any customer with information on the cow’s whereabouts.
“This is the only 24-foot inflatable cow in the state of Arizona, so we're definitely down,” he told Fox 10.
The citizens of Tempe were similarly rattled by the criminal’s wanton disregard for law and order.
“I feel mad, but sad,” one resident said, clearly struggling to contain their emotions. “I think it's horrible that someone would take a cow. What are they going to do with it? I mean you can't put it in front of your house.”
No, instead someone put the giant cow in the back of their house. A tipster of course spotted the cow and alerted police (the suspect claims he bought the prop at a garage sale), and is now enjoying 365 glorious, deep-fried days of free chicken.