Eek! A Ratite

Many mornings, on my drive to work, I try to pay attention to what is around me.  For instance, what is on the side of the road. just in case something tries to jump out.  For a few days, two years ago, I had been noticing something unusual.  There was something strange in a pen by one of the houses along the side of the road, just a few miles from my home.  I had passed it many times, noticing anything more unusual than some chickens or a turkey.  At first, I thought if was just a donkey, or some other equine, considering that they also have two ponies in a nearby corral.  Then I tried taking a closer look at the grey, furry blob.  It seemed to be a giant bird.  Now, I have seen some unusual animals on my way to work.  In fact, one of the neighbors to this house in question once owned an African lion (don't ask, I don't remember much about it beyond what was in the news and they owners had raised it from a cub).  An alternate route takes me by a stable that has a pair of zebra, to go along with their herd of longhorn cattle and horses.  Many times, I have had to drive by an elk herd at a certain intersection, with drivers stopped to watch them (although it had been months since I have even seen one elk, and it wasn't even in that field).  So, this morning I drove by the place extra slowly and took a really good look at the pen.  The large grey blob wasn't a giant bird; it was two giant birds!  From what I could see of them, they appeared to be emu, as they lack the typical white patches of the ostrich. Still, I could have been all wrong, but was hoping to be able to find more out very soon.
I did find out after a few weeks.  The owner of the house and pen also owned a pet store.  I never could find out why he had a pair of emu.  Every morning, for months, I would look over to the pen to catch a glimpse of them.  I would do this almost every day.  They would be out there in almost any kind of weather, wet or dry, hot or cold.  Then, after a few months, I heard that the owner had died.  Some time after that, the emus disappeared and their pen was slowly taken apart.  It still haunts me a little that I will never know why he had emus and what would ultimately happen to them.  Two birds wouldn't be enough to start a farm, but then why just two?  Who would want just two emu, if not to start a sustainable herd?  I just couldn't wrap my head around it, and I probable never will.
(adapted from a post from October 2016)