A Sentience Article from All-Creatures.org

Little Bit and Savannah’s Bond is a Beautiful Thing to Witness

From Rowdy Girl Sanctuary
November 2022

I could only think of the endless bellowing of the mother cows when we used to separate them from their calves before we became a sanctuary. There was only one solution - load both of them for a trip to the vet. An hour away.

If you’ve ever been to Rowdy Girl Sanctuary you know that Little Bit and Savannah’s bond is a beautiful thing to witness. They were surrendered by an older cattle ranching couple here in Texas. Little Bit, the momma cow, had a chronic prolapsed uterus which deemed her useless in a cattle ranch operation.

Faced with the threat of having to sell off the pair, the rancher’s wife Mary Jo, who adored her cows, said “no way.” She contacted me here at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and after hearing their story, we agreed to take them in.

The pair was slowly introduced to the herd after quarantine and Savannah quickly began frolicking with her new bovine friends. Until day five...

Savannah was nowhere to be found. After a frantic search, we found the young calf hunkered down in the brush with a badly injured and bleeding hoof. When the herd is way out in the pasture, we cannot always see what mischief they get into.

Little Bit’s cries were heartbreaking as her baby was being loaded onto the trailer. Transport loading is dangerous, stressful for animals and humans, and in this case, was separating mother and her nursing calf.

My husband Tommy, now a hardcore vegan but being a former cattle rancher, said they would be fine separated for a few days. I said no way.

I could only think of the endless bellowing of the mother cows when we used to separate them from their calves before we became a sanctuary.

There was only one solution - load both of them for a trip to the vet. An hour away.

Because it finally started to rain, Little Bit and Savannah had to remain at the medical facility for several days as the injured hoof was healing and needed dry ground. Besides the stress of being separated from the herd, the cost shot up exponentially.

This story has a happy ending because of swift action and follow-up care. Savannah’s hoof has healed and she is running around with her pals in the pasture again.

Because of people like you, we can go to these lengths for our animals.

If we had a medical facility at the sanctuary, we would not have been forced into loading up not only Savannah who is still nursing, but also Little Bit, her momma.

Will you donate towards our Vet Care Fund to help pay for their care? To donate visit our website.

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