Wallaby escapes owners, goes on walkabout in Dallas neighborhood

A couple taking a morning walk saw the animal and thought it was a dog.

A wallaby who apparently escaped his owners went on a walkabout in an east Dallas neighborhood before being recaptured.

A wallaby roams in the front yard of a Dallas neighborhood. (AP)

Tim Tiernan said he and his wife were taking a morning walk Wednesday when they saw what they first thought was a dog. The wallaby hopped into the couple’s driveway and up to their back door.

The wallaby is native to Australia and New Guinea and part of the same family as kangaroos. (AP)

Dallas Animal Services officers eventually caught the marsupial in the couple’s backyard. The animal was identified as Muggsy and picked up by his owner.

Officials didn’t release the owner’s name or how the wallaby escaped. The agency said the wallaby is kept on a country ranch.

Wallabies are native to Australia and surrounding islands and are a close relative of the kangaroo.