By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent 

SAVAGE -- There’s a sad ending to the story of Waldo the wallaby.

After a month on the lam, the Lund family’s 3½-year-old pet wallaby was found dead Wednesday afternoon.

He was found lying in a tall patch of grass at the edge of the woods on Edgewater Court, Denell Lund said. The family vet stated he had jaundice, which most likely led to liver failure. The family vet told Lund that Waldo’s diet while he was loose most likely led to the liver failure.Waldo

Waldo escaped from his “courtyard” at the Lund’s home in the 14100 block of Hillsboro Court on Sept. 29 after strong winds caused a tree to fall on a portion of the kangaroo-like animal’s kennel located on the backside of the home.

After missing for a month to the day, he was found, Lund said,

“Our family is doing as well as can be expected and we knew this was a possible outcome. At least we are able to have closure knowing where Waldo is.”

There were numerous sightings of Waldo in about a six-block area from his home the first couple of weeks the wallaby was missing. For the last two weeks, there were no sightings; however, the family did see fresh tracks in a soybean field adjacent to where he was eventually found on Sunday.

Then on Tuesday, the Lunds received a phone call from the Savage Police Department that there was a sighting about six blocks from home, Lund said.

A little girl who lives at that home was looking out the window, turned to her mother and said “she had seen a ‘kangaroo,’” Lund said.

When the girl’s mother looked, sure enough it was Waldo.

By the time the Lunds got to the home, Waldo had hopped away, Lund said. But about a half hour later, the homeowner called again saying Waldo was back.

“I went over again and was able to see him for myself,” Lund said. “I talked to him for about a half hour before he hopped away.”

Lund said she was standing about 30 feet away from Waldo on Tuesday. She was talking with the wallaby in a manner to try to make him feel comfortable so he would stay in the area when a noise scared him and he hopped about 20 feet deeper into the woods, where he sat near a tree looking at his owner while eating leaves.

“Deep down I wanted him to come over to me,” Lund said. “But I knew the reality of that was slim.”

When Lund saw Waldo, she could tell he was sick and noticed he lost weight in the last month.

The day after Waldo hopped away, the Lunds were adding mirrors to a live trap, and trying a couple of other ideas, when she received another phone call from the homeowner that saw Waldo the day before.

“This time the news was not so good,” Lund said.

The woman was in tears and stated she was heartbroken, Lund said. The woman told Lund, the little girl’s grandfather went into the woods and field where Waldo had been seen in previous days and found the wallaby lying along the edge of the woods.

“It was almost like yesterday's sighting was my chance to see Waldo for the last time and he was saying good-bye,” Lund said.

The Lunds said they feel extrmely fortunate to have all the help they did in trying to bring Waldo home.

Minnesota Critter Getters spent countless hours helping the family try to recover Waldo. The family also thanked: the family the they adopted Waldo from, the Savage Police Department, Dave's Animal Farm of Texas, 4 Paws Animal Control, the news media, community members and the area homeowners, who were so generous with their homes and yard during the search. She also thanked the Minnesota Zoo veterinarian, Valley View Veterinary and countless others who helped with ideas, support and supplies.

 “A special thank you goes to Amelia, the little girl who spotted Waldo, giving us the chance to see him one last time,” Lund said. “Thank you just does not say enough for all the help and support we received.”

Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at shogendorf@swpub.com.