Chicken Roaming Outside Pentagon Caught By Arlington County Animal Control

ARLINGTON, VA — To the person who lost a chicken outside of the Pentagon on Monday, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington wants you to know you can pick it up at the county animal shelter in Shirlington.

Sgt. Cliff Ballena, an Arlington County Animal Control officer, received unusual message at the start of his shift on Monday morning from the overnight officer.

"The Pentagon security people gave us a call saying that there was a chicken on their property," he said. "It was running around, and they called so we could come pick it up."

With the help of the Pentagon's security officers, Ballena was able to capture the chicken at one of the Pentagon's security points. There was no indication of how the chicken ended up there or where it had come from.

"There was nothing wrong with it or anything," Ballena said. "We're currently just holding it for five days straight to see if there is a potential owner or somebody who lost their chicken."

AWLA already has been contacted by a couple of farms in the area, expressing interest in taking the chicken if no one claims it.

While not a regular occurrence, animal control does receive the odd request to pick up a roaming chicken now and then.

"Sometimes we do get a couple of chickens running at large," Ballena said. "There's no proper property in Arlington to have a chicken. That's why a lot of people do not house chickens, because they don't have their property spaced according to code enforcement and zoning laws."

AWLA runs the animal shelter at 2650 S. Arlington Mill Drive for Arlington County. The shelter currently is operating under COVID-19 restrictions. Residents should visit AWLA's website for more information about pet adoption and other services.