A baby cow in Holland, New York escaped the slaughterhouse and ran off into the woods.
Many people tried to look for her.
Some were genuinely concerned about her safety and then there were some who wanted to hunt her for her meat.
They’d catch a glimpse of her but no one could catch her.
Bonnie, the baby cow, grew up on a farm that raised cattle to be eventually slaughtered.
The owner of the farm had died and the owner’s family decided to sell the cattle they had to another slaughterhouse.
While the farm staff was busy loading the other cows, Bonnie used the other cows’ confusion to escape to a nearby forest, where no one would find her.
It was winter.
It was wintertime when Bonnie made her escape and the forest was blanketed in about three feet of snow, which made the search for her really challenging.
Eventually, they gave up, especially since they couldn’t really find her anyway.
Then, Bonnie met her tribe.
There was a herd of deer who found Bonnie and adopted her into their group.
Together, they wandered through the forest, taking care of each other.
Meanwhile, all over the forest, there were lots of trail cameras set up so Becky Bartels can take photos of the deer wandering around.
It turned out Becky owned the land that Bonnie wandered off to and now lives on with the herd of deer.
As she went through the images on the camera’s memory card, she was shocked to find a cow living with the deer.
It was Bonnie.
It made a lot of sense since both cows and deer are herd animals.
And since Bonnie lost her herd, she was lucky to have been adopted by this herd, especially during the winter season.
Becky decided she’d do what she can to make sure the cow had something to eat.
Every day, she’d go to where Bonnie stayed and gave her food and bedding.
Bonnie ate the food she gave but was still wary and fearful of this human.
But, because she did this every day, Bonnie started to warm up to Becky and was no longer afraid to come up to her to ask for snacks.
Becky knew this couldn’t last long.
Her neighbors were already threatening to shoot Bonnie if she ended up on their property.
In order to protect her, Becky got in touch with Farm Sanctuary, a local animal sanctuary based in Watkins Glen, New York.
Led by the Farm Sanctuary National Director, Susie Coston, they came up with a plan to capture Bonnie so they can transfer her to their sanctuary.
It wouldn’t be so easy.
Because Bonnie was wary of humans, it wasn’t easy to come any nearer to her.
Luckily, they had Becky, who was willing to do what was needed to get Bonnie to a safe place.
After consulting with the Farm Sanctuary vet, they decided to give Bonnie a sedative so it’ll be easier to take her to their truck.
They would add the sedative to her food, which Becky would give her.
Bonnie still didn’t trust people.
Unfortunately, any time Bonnie gets a glimpse of any human, she runs away.
They decided to barricade the area and close it off when Bonnie goes inside for her food.
Getting the dosage right
At first, the dose wasn’t strong enough and Bonnie was still kicking and walking.
They decided to administer a stronger dose the next day and it worked.
The Farm Sanctuary staff loaded Bonnie into their truck and brought her to Farm Sanctuary, where she has been living a good and safe life with other cows.
And it’s all thanks to Becky’s compassionate nature.
See Bonnie’s journey unfold in the video below!
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