One summer day at R and R Garage in North Carolina, a rooster walked into the garage.
And no, this isn’t a joke.
The employees just assumed he had been abandoned and they started to feed him leftovers from the shop fridge but after they took a long weekend — they assumed he would move on to another spot.
And when they all returned — he was still there, so they decided to name him Earl and he has been the shop’s rooster ever since.
Unless the weather is bad, Earl sleeps in a nearby tree at night — and when that happens, everyone ensures he makes it safely inside at night.
Each morning, Earl excitedly says hello to his fellow employees as they arrive at work for the day and has gotten into a routine at the shop that everyone has come to fall in love with.
“He comes running when the first guy comes in to open up for the day,” co-owner of R and R Garage, Joe Gallo, shared with The Dodo. “He gets his cup of scratch, then wanders the shop looking for any bugs that may be around. He gets up under all the toolboxes and workbenches looking for spiders and anything else he can find.”
And after he is finished with his breakfast hunt — Earl then likes to follow the employees around the garage and hang out with them.
At this point, Earl believes he is just one of the guys — and the guys agree.
“He will come up in the shop and usually lay down and sleep under the car you’re working on or in a corner,” Gallo said. “He doesn’t care about loud noises or people walking by. He will even sleep in front of the office door and we’ve tripped over him a few times.”
Chickens are known to be inquisitive animals who are just as intelligent as cats, dogs and even primates.
They are known for being social creatures and enjoy spending time in groups who form complex social hierarchies and interact in complex ways.
According to anthropologists, this is considered a “culture,” as chickens learn from observing the success and failure of others in the community.
That being said, Earl doesn’t realize that he is in way most of the time — everyone in the shop has accepted that part of the job is working around the rooster mascot.
Earl has been diligently “working” at the shop for so long that he is now considered a local celebrity.
The shop is also changing their logo as well as making t-shirts to include him to showcase that he is a part of the team.
“We can’t believe the attention Earl is getting… it’s the town gossip now,” Gallo said. “We do have customers that bring other friends or family to see Earl when they come pick up their vehicles.”
And while no one is really sure where Earl came from or why exactly he chose the R and R Garage to be his home — everyone there is very happy he did and he is now officially considered apart of the family.
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