Wallaby on the loose in Oklahoma after dog opens gate

July 7 (UPI) -- A wallaby is on the loose in Oklahoma, and the animal's owner said a dog might be to blame for the escape.

Gil Gilbreath, who operates petting zoos for his church, said his wallaby, Roo, escaped from his fenced-in back yard and has been seen hopping loose in Blanchard.

"It's a chain link gate and I guess a dog must have hit the latch," Gilbreath told KOKH-TV. "I have a dog that likes to play with him through the fence."

Gilbreath said Roo was spotted by neighbors near his home, but the marsupial fled into the woods.

"It went in those woods and it's real thick, so we couldn't get in there. It's kind of a wait deal now," Gilbreath told KFOR-TV.

Blanchard police have been using a drone to try to locate Roo.

"If we can at least get him out in the open and get people to fence him into a smaller area so we can throw the net over him," Liesl Welu with Blanchard Animal Control said.