Left to Die But Now Starting Over: Welcome to Our Newest Arrival

Within minutes of receiving a call from a local animal control agency, we loaded up our trailer with everything we needed to catch a calf who was alone and had been on the loose for days.

What we found instead was a young cow — just under a year, most likely — down in a ditch and unable to run away from us as we approached. Our senior shelter manager, Tara Hess, calmly went into the ditch to secure her with a halter, and our team then worked out the best plan to get her out.

They set to work getting this nearly 400-pound girl out of the wet and muddy ditch and onto level ground so she could get her footing.

Farm Manager Mario Ramirez, Farm Assistant Erika Decker, Caregiver Bianca Giolitto, and Tara immediately got her up and in a sternal position to avoid further bloating and to allow her to get her legs under her with help.

(Warning: Some images showing her condition follow.)

They were then also able to see the large wounds, although most were covered by tissue. They also saw the horrible fly infestation and the thousands of maggots who were eating her entire back end.

This was a very injured and sickly little girl who needed immediate help.

So the team got her up on her feet and helped her walk on her own to the trailer. Once inside, however, she quickly collapsed on the ride to Cornell University’s Nemo Farm Animal Hospital (where we brought her so that her very deep wounds could be examined and her treatment started).

Once they arrived at Cornell, the task of getting her up began again. This little girl was thin, weak, in pain, and very sick.

The wounds ended up being very deep and required surgical debriding, so she needed to be sedated. All the maggots and dead tissue were removed, although much of the dead skin will take months to come off completely. She was also suffering from anemia, which made her much weaker.

Her first night must have felt so good, to be clean, on antibiotics and pain meds, and safe in a stall where she could relax. Other cattle were being treated in the hospital as well, so she could hear them and talk to them across the hall and not feel so scared and alone.

Her new treatment regimen was also started; it includes debriding (carefully), cleaning well daily, and a topical ointment called SSD (silver sulfadiazine), which hospital staff also used to paint a heart on our gal. She was also put on an injectable antibiotic and multiple pain medications for her wounds.

And right before she was ready to come home, it was noted that she was a bit off — showing signs of a neurological issue — so further tests were necessary before she was able to come home to our New York Shelter. She had a CT scan that showed nothing significant, and her blood tests for diseases that could have contributed to her ataxia were negative. In the end, it was assumed to be a vestibular ataxia, which she will hopefully learn to deal with as she gets older.



She has only been with us at our Watkins Glen, NY, sanctuary for 24 hours, but she is already adjusting, and the circling behavior and head-bobbing are decreasing as she adjusts to her new surroundings.

And although she is scared and a bit unsure, she will soon learn that her life is starting again. In a few months she will join a herd, form a family, and have a life full of joy, security, and love — like every cow deserves. Welcome to the family!

Please share her story. Together, we can encourage awareness about the deep emotional and social lives of cattle and spread the word that each and every farm animal is someone, not something. With your support, we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

