Hoot

 I asked my cousin to ask his Dad how he got this owl and was able to pass it on to his little brother. Here is his response:  2 of his friends took it out of a nest when it was young. After it started getting bigger they couldn't take care of it and they knew dad had a large cage that he kept turkeys in so they ended up giving it to him. He took care of it until he was 17 when he went in the Army and gave it to Joe. He figured Joe just quit feeding it and let it go. He said he fed it everything from mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits and even frogs. I told him Your dad's side of the family took the picture and he remembered that. He said he dug the basement to your house with a horse and horse drawn scoop, and remembered unloading all the brick for the house as well.  On the next message he added that the owl's name was Hoot. Is that ever cool? Unless I was a falconer, a wildlife rehabilitation specialist, or a wildlife educator, there is no way I could ever do this now.