Charity the cow can finally rest in peace.

The “most perfect cow that ever was” died a quiet death in 1988. The world famous show cow was lovingly buried at the only home she likely knew, the idyllic Hanover Hill Farm in Port Perry, her grave marked by a large rock, flowers and a plaque that reads: “The legend that compels our imaginations to carry it on.”

But Charity the statue, installed last summer in a small parkette on Charity Cres. in Markham, would not be blessed with a similarly dignified end.

After a year of turmoil and controversy, the statue was carefully and unceremoniously taken down from its pedestal Wednesday morning — to be returned to the developer who donated it, Helen Roman-Barber.

A large crane hoisted Charity off its eight-metre high stilts as residents and city staff looked on. Contractors carefully attached Charity to a crane and brought it down to safer ground. The statue was placed on the back of a trailer, secured with ropes, cushioned with blankets, and driven to her next home — believed to be the artist’s studio in Barrie.

Local Markham Councillor Alan Ho arrived to see the tail end of the spectacle, saying he was “happy to see the closure of this issue.”

In a statement, the City of Markham said it was “paying for part of the cost of removing Charity, which is less than $25,000. The donor is responsible for other costs. We are not aware of Charity’s final location.”

A spokesman for the developer did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Mounted into the Markham sky last July, the larger than life stainless-steel statue would have enshrined the bovine in the memories of people forever.

But the award-winning cow — who was the Supreme Champion of the Holsteins at the World Dairy Expo in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987 and a nine-time all-Canadian or all-American show cow — never managed to win over her new audience.

Residents were upset to see the memorial of the Holstein on stilts grazing in the sky so close to their homes. They said the city had kept them in the dark about plans to install “Charity: Perpetuation of Perfection” — and so the residents of the community of Cathedraltown protested her perpetual presence.

The rest of the GTA, however, was smitten by the art piece. Charity the statue brought out the public art critics, the historians (who believed the cow memorialized the farm that once stood on the site), and the lovers of bad cow puns.

And despite the harsh glare of public scrutiny and the dilly-dallying of an indecisive council, she persisted.

But at the end, she simply couldn’t beat the forces of mother nature.

Last month, an intense wind storm, literally brought (parts of) the cow down. Residents found leaves from the wreath around Charity’s neck on the ground, sparking concerns that another harsh storm could result in the sharp leaves injuring their children.

It left Markham councillors, worried about the public hazard on their watch, with no option but to immediately ground Charity.

But that wasn’t quite the end of the bovine debacle.

Roman-Barber’s company, Romandale Farms Ltd., filed a multimillion lawsuit and asked the courts for an injunction to stop Markham from “initiating, performing, or completing any removal or relocation” of the statue until the matter was settled.

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And after a day of taxpayer-paid lawyers in court, the judge told the developer that “the residents of Markham have stated ... that they do not want the gift that Romandale wishes to bestow on them. A true philanthropist respects the wishes of those he or she wishes to benefit.”

The request for an injunction was denied. The lawsuit is ongoing “for now,” said Councillor Ho on Wednesday.

Residents were relieved it was over.

“I’m glad our neighbourhood that we love will return to the way it was,” said outspoken resident Danny Da Silva.

But public art aficionados around the city were sad to see the cow statue simply shuffled away. Many had offered to take her, such as restaurateur Zane Caplansky and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Ho says Charity may come back to Markham still, to a destination agreed upon by all parties — and this time, of course, the residents.

Roman-Barber had imagined the statue less as a tribute to the cow than to her father, Stephen Roman. He had owned a part share in Charity, which he had purchased for a record $1.45 million. Charity’s offspring eventually lived at Romandale Farm, which was owned by Roman, and predates the Cathedraltown development.

Charity isn’t the only Holstein to be honoured in Cathedraltown. Seven other cows owned by Romans have streets named after them in the subdivision. And a mosaic of a haloed cow adorns the dome of the Cathedral of Transfiguration, a cathedral around which the subdivision was built. It’s unclear if the holy cow is meant to represent Charity.

In any case, there was something special about Charity. She truly was a golden calf: loved in life — evident by the many shows she won, and the love and fondness with which her keeper, farmer Ken Trevena, took care of her until her dying days.

In an magazine article about her from 1986, she was described with fondness by Peter Heffering, who owned the other half-share in her: “She’s a very nice individual to work with,” he said. “A good cow should look like a tank. And she looks like a tank. I consider her to be the perfect cow.”

Her memorial may be gone, but thanks to a yearlong cow controversy that few could have imagined — her memory will endure.