With Nimbus, he found a purpose and a friend.

 With Nimbus, he found a purpose and a friend.

“She lessened my anxiety, she calmed me,” Olenik says. “She would notice me being down and just come snuggle on me. She brought me back to communicating more. … She pestered me, she got in my face. She wanted me to be active and follow her.”

Emus can cause 'horrendous injuries'

In February 2023, a neighbor complained the family was keeping an emu. Virginia Beach Animal Control then cited Olenik for violating city code, and a judge fined him $50. While Olenik considered Nimbus a companion animal, the city called the emu livestock.

Nimbus the emu roams the backyard. (Courtesy Nicholas Olenik)

The American Emu Association, a nonprofit that represents the emu industry, says the birds should be raised for agricultural purposes — such as meat, leather, oil, feathers and eggs — in a proper, safe environment.

They can weigh up to 100 pounds, grow to almost 6 feet tall and sprint more than 30 miles per hour, so they need an adequate amount of fenced space to walk, run and forage, it notes.

People don’t need a license to buy an emu, but it’s “completely unhealthy” for the bird to be kept alone with only human companionship, the association says. Emus are not safe pets for children, it warns.

“They have razor sharp claws that could easily slice an artery or cause horrendous injuries if they are not properly handled. I would never allow a child or an inexperienced person near my emu,” Lonergan says.

“They are not an animal that people with no livestock handling experience can simply own.”