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Family Down And Out With A Kangaroo

News Channel 8 photo by KATY HENNIG

Jack the kangaroo accompanied his owners on their journey from Wisconsin.

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By KEITH MORELLI

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

Published: November 19, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - This has been a hellish vacation for Larry and Diana Moyer of Beaver Dam, Wis.

Tuesday, they were just about ready to pack up their pampered kangaroo and crippled goat and head home.

The couple, who run Ricky's White Tails and Exotics farm in Wisconsin, brought two of their favorite living things along for the Sunshine State road trip, but the fun times have been few and really hard to find.

First, their aging recreational vehicle broke down three times on the way south. A new alternator fixed the problem, and the Moyers arrived in Pinellas County, where Larry, 57, had a minor stroke and wound up in the hospital for three days.

"He has them all the time," Diana said.

On Sunday, out of the hospital and looking for some relaxation, the couple pulled off on a spit of shoreline just south of the South Pinellas Bayway toll plaza to do a little fishing and watch the sunset. That's when a short circuit in a fuse box ignited the motor home, destroying it and their wallets, identification and money.

The American Red Cross got them a hotel room. As luck would have it, the motel allowed goats but not kangaroos.

So they got Jack the kangaroo and Edward the goat into the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center in Seminole.

Tuesday, they strolled around the burned-out wreck of their RV, waiting for an insurance agent to arrive, waist-deep in misery and eager to get back on the road home in the old Volvo they bought for $1,500.

Unfazed by all this are Jack the kangaroo and Edward the goat.

"They are like family," Larry said. "They stay in the house with us at night."

Getting from Wisconsin to Florida with a marsupial was an adventure in itself. "Every state where his feet touch the ground," said Diane Moyer, 47, "we had to get a permit," including Florida.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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