Meet the Sanctuary Crew: Cows!
Cows are the best - ask anyone (just not the goats). The Animal Place crew are the happiest cows around with no fear of slaughter or confinement. Their biggest concerns in life involve avoiding health checks and whether the 50-acres in back are tastier than the 80-acres in front.
Now's your chance to learn more about the cows who call Animal Place home.
But first, a video. Every few weeks the cows need to be moved to greener pastures, where they can keep the grass down and enjoy life to its fullest. On some farms, harsh techniques like herding, dogs, physical punishment are all used to convince cattle to move from Point A to Point B. At the sanctuary, though, we ask of the cows what you might ask of a companion dog who needs to come...we just say "Come on cows!" and chaos ensues!!
Now's your chance to learn more about the cows who call Animal Place home.
But first, a video. Every few weeks the cows need to be moved to greener pastures, where they can keep the grass down and enjoy life to its fullest. On some farms, harsh techniques like herding, dogs, physical punishment are all used to convince cattle to move from Point A to Point B. At the sanctuary, though, we ask of the cows what you might ask of a companion dog who needs to come...we just say "Come on cows!" and chaos ensues!!
Meet the Cows
At the age of 15, Howie is ancient! Don't tell him that, because he has retained his youthful stubbornness. As you can see in the video above, Howie is about going at his own pace, no matter what us humans think. He even gets his own theme song! You gotta love a bovine who knows who he is and what he wants.Howie was going to be slaughtered at the young age of two. TWO! His mom died giving birth to him, and the farmer dumped him at a local shelter. Local 4-H'ers wanted to auction him so they could raise him and kill him. Unbelievable, right? And if you ever doubted the power of one individual, stop it right now, that is so defeatist! It took one person to save Howie's life - a volunteer at the shelter called us, the media and voila! Howie saved. See how amazing it is to get involved? You can literally save a life, which is actually easier than you might think. Can't save a farmed animal at a shelter? Try being vegan one day a week and you'll be saving Howie's up the wazoo.
Sadie is the 13-yr-old matriarch of the herd. What she says goes, even if the youngsters think otherwise. Sadie isn't in the video, because she has a strict contract regarding video footage! Even taking photos of her can be nightmarish, especially when she cannot figure out which side is her best. They're both beautiful, Sadie!Born on a dairy farm, Sadie didn't know her mom - how sad is that? Then she was impregnated before the age of two...it takes almost five years for a cow to reach physical maturity. She gave birth to four or five calves and never nursed one of them. All her milk was given to humans instead of her own babies. Little bit of sadness, right?
Sadie loves Animal Place, because she not only gets to mother all the incoming babies - usually the male "veal" calves of the dairy industry - but she gets to boss them around too! Like if Sadie calls to The Boys of Doom (trademarked term for any male bovine under the age of, say, 7), it doesn't matter if they're frolicking a mile away, they best get their adorable rear ends to Sadie post-haste. She then thoroughly grooms them and tells them to look both ways before crossing the creek-bed.
If you adore Sadie, try soy milk with your cereal until your tastebuds adjust to the new flavor and demand more!
All hail The Boys of Doom! Left is Nicholas, a 4-yr-old Jersey steer, middle is Murphy, a 2-yr-old Holstein, and right is Freedom, a 2-yr-old Jersey boy. The only ones missing are Tommy, an Angus steer, and Summer, a 2-yr-old Jersey...but they wisely stayed out of frame to avoid being called Doomful!Murphy and Nicholas are the two steers you see in the video head-butting. Murphy has taken charge of this gang because he has horns and Nicholas doesn't. Murphy likes to rub that in Nick's face any chance he gets! All three of these handsome cow-lets are victims of the dairy industry, the male calves who don't produce milk, don't grow as quickly as "beef" breeds, and who are generally raised for veal or backyard slaughter. But they'll live out their super long lives at the sanctuary...did you know cows can live 20-25 years? So these steers will eventually mature and grow up to be well-mannered members of the herd. Until then, though, they're Trouble and we wouldn't have them any other way!
Did you know for only $25 a year, you can foster Nicholas? But you won't have to worry about a 5-lb cow paddy ruining your carpet! You'll help cover his feed and care costs. And you will receive our most recent newsletter and a wallet-sized card that says you are Nicholas' foster parent!
Coming soon...Elsa, Maddie, Summer and Tommy!
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