Harold was on the run. When faced with the prospect of becoming someone’s burger for dinner or lunch, he fled the meat farm where he lived.
Three months had passed since Harold’s escape. He had been hiding out on another local farm, where he made friends with some horses.
“Originally, he was just staying in the field but he’s very crafty and I would find him so deep back behind our fences going wherever he wanted to,” Julia, who works at the farm, said.
Julia decided to call some sanctuaries to see if they were able to take Harold.
Tamerlaine Sanctuary in New Jersey agreed to take him in.
According to their website, the sanctuary has cared for abused and neglected farm animals since 2013.
“Clucking hens, crowing roosters, quacking ducks, oinking pigs, turkeys, goats, cows, honking geese, and over 250 animals that call Tamerlaine Sanctuary and Preserve their home,” Tamerlaine’s website says.
But first, Julia had to get Harold onto the trailer that would bring him to the sanctuary. To do that, they’d have to get Harold into the barn and then corral him onto the trailer.
But Harold was wary of his new friends. The only other place he had been was the slaughterhouse, and he wasn’t sure where these people wanted to take him.
Julia decided she would try to lure him with some grain since he had a sweet tooth.
So, she started leaving buckets of it out and walking away. Eventually, she would creep closer as he ate to get him comfortable with being around her.
She started to move the bucket farther away and walking with it so that Harold would follow her toward the barn.
“He’s very smart, he realized that it was an enclosed space,” Julia told The Dodo.
It took her about a week for him to step all the way in, but he would back out of the stall after eating and then wouldn’t go near it.
“We came so close hundreds of times,” she said.
Two months later, she decided to build a secure pen.
“I came one afternoon and he was lying down in there and the gate was closed. He decided to go in on his own free choice,” Juila
Julia knew this was her shot to get Harold into the trailer, so she called Tamerlaine, who sent a bunch of volunteers to get Harold.
Everyone who worked in the barn helped too.
“He eluded capture for so long that I wouldn’t think that he would voluntarily go into a pen until he was really ready to go home,” Gabrielle of Tamerlaine Sanctuary said.
Harold lept right off of the trailer once they arrived at the sanctuary. That’s when he spotted all the other cows and joyfully ran toward them as the volunteers cheered.
“He blended in as soon as he got there,” said Gabrielle.
Not only did he blend in, but he made a best friend named Dexter. Dexter helped Harold find the love and support he needed to flourish.
Learn more about Harold and his new life in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
