Why?

Was driving back home this afternoon from a family excursion to the supermarket and saw from a distance a guy walking what looked to be the tallest Irish setter I've ever seen. Just as I was about to say "look at the size of that dog!!", I saw it was the guy who lives around the bend walking one of his oxen down the sidewalk on a rope, like it was a colossal dog with really huge horns. He wasn't even walking on the quiet back road where our house is, but on the sidewalk along Back River Road which is lined with houses and fairly well travelled. The horn span on that beast probably equals the width of the sidewalk. I imagine the usual walkers and joggers had to step off the curb and go around.