Transcript
Matt Lieurance, Co-Founder of Farm Animal Refuge: I think when people meet the cows, they are first taken aback by their size. They can be incredibly intimidating and quickly they find out that's not the case. They're actually a very loving animal. They love to be pet and to be scratched on their neck or around their horns are some of their favorite spots.
Hi, I'm Matt. I'm one of the co-founders of Farm Animal Refuge.
What is a grass puppy? Here at Farm Animal Refuge, we actually refer to them as grass puppies because they act just the same as the dogs that you have and you love, and you invite into your home. There's really no difference besides the size of them and to have a cow here and to watch it grow up and watch it with its family is incredibly special. They really bond to their families and the people that are actually taking care of them as well. They treat us just as their own, which could be pushing us around to try to be playful or it could be snuggling up with us on a really cold day. So, cows act just like dogs, just like cats and just like all the animals we consider family. Just the size of them is a little bit different.
India came to us in the very beginning of our rescue, right after the local state fair. A lot of the people don't really know what happens to the animals after the state fair, that they're generally slaughtered and sold for meat as soon as the fair ends. So we were lucky enough to rescue him the day after the fair ended and brought him home.
Well, a couple months later, we were talking about how sad it is that animals in the agriculture industry lose their families and get taken away from their mom so early. So, we thought it'd be a good idea to maybe track his mom down. We knew it was a long shot, but we thought, "Hey, why not? Let's give it a shot." So after some cold calling and some research and some luck, we ended up finding his mom.
Reunited and getting her to the sanctuary—through the course of that, we realized that she actually had twins the year before, and they were separated and about to be sold into the agricultural program as well. So we knew we couldn't let that happen. We actually ended up picking them up as well, bringing them all back and reuniting the entire family with India. It was a really special moment, that even though they were separated for so long, they recognized each other immediately. They love each other dearly and they spent all day together. Not only were we able to reunite her with those babies that she had already lost and were separated from but she came to us pregnant and had her final baby here which is Baby Rose. Who is no longer a baby, she's well over 1800 pounds, and they all live together as a family, will live their natural lives together and spend every waking moment together. Through what we do to animals, we feel like he deserves to have his family. And so there is Grace, there's India, two little twins from this year, baby boy, baby girl, Mama India.
Adam Peditto
