The meat industry is a controversial topic, but we can probably all agree that many dairy and meat farms don’t provide animals with a good quality of life throughout the short time that they are on the earth for.
The sole aim of these farms if to produce good quality food – which is often at the expense of the animals. And if the animals aren’t fit for the job, then most of the time they will sadly be euthanized.
So when a calf that was born in a dairy farm was found to be infertile and unable to produce milk, workers decided that she would be of no use to them at the farm and planned to take her life. But luckily, before that could happen, volunteers at a farmyard sanctuary stepped in to rescue the little calf, and she’s now happily settled into her new life at the sanctuary. So much so, that she has quite a special way of saying hello to her rescuers every morning!
Jenna the dairy cow was taken in by Ryan Phillips, 42, and Mallory Sherman, 34, when she was only three days old. The caring couple runs a not-for-profit farmyard sanctuary, and they were determined to put a positive spin on Jenna’s fate before it was too late.
Ryan nursed and cared for Jenna every day, and within no time at all, she was enjoying her new life at the sanctuary – and developed quite a soft spot for her rescuer.
“Jenna treats me like I’m her best friend and saw me like I was her mom when she was little because I brought and fed her bottles,” Ryan told Fox News. “She’d knock me in my belly to attempt to make more milk come out.”
Ryan and Molly went above and beyond to make sure that the little calf was settling well into the sanctuary. Ryan knew that she would be missing her mom, so he would spend hours in the company of the calf to comfort her.
The pair grew closer and closer, and soon they were the best of friends.
“I spent every night talking and laying with her in the barn and making sure she was healthy and happy.” Ryan said. “And so, now we continue to have a bond that results in her mooing for me and needing morning hugs – as well as lots of time together during the day, and goodnight hugs and scratches as well.
In fact, Jenna was so used to spending all her time with Ryan, that she soon began looking for him early in the morning.
After figuring out that he spent his first few hours of the day in the kitchen, Jenna developed a hilarious morning routine, which was captured on camera by Molly.
The routine involves Jenna sticking her head through the kitchen window at the farm in Williamsburg, Va, and mooing loudly until her favorite person comes to the window. As soon as Ryan opens the window, Jenna puts her head right through the gap and happily lets him pet and cuddle her.
You can see just how close the two are in the video, and Ryan says, “We are truly best friends and she’s definitely just as much family as any human could be.”
The adorable video was shared onto the company’s Facebook page, Life With Pigs, and since being posted it’s had quite an effect on Facebook users all over the world, gaining over 5k reacts and 1k shares, as well as hundreds of comments.
It’s so adorable to see just how grateful Jenna is to her rescuers, and we think they’re doing an amazing job. Watch the sweet video below.
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