Moonpie, a baby miniature cow was bought at a livestock auction house. However, he wasn’t bought for slaughter. Janice Wolf, the founder of Rocky Ridge Refuge, asked a friend of hers to go to that auction to see is she could rescue any animals from there. Wolf did not want to go herself because she couldn’t handle seeing how badly treated most of the animals were at the auction.
“These auctions are huge — millions and millions of animals are auctioned off everyday,” Wolf said. “I stay away from them because they kind of make me crazy. Many of the animals aren’t being treated that well.”
When Wolf’s friend was at the auction, a mini cow named Moonpie caught her eye.
“She was a mini, and you don’t see a lot of those go through the local auctions,” Wolf said.
According to The Dodo, Moonpie was still a young, milk-dependant baby, so Wolf knew she couldn’t keep her outside with the other rescue cows.
“I don’t have a lot of room here, and it was cold and rainy, and that wasn’t good for a little calf,” Wolf explained. “All my heated buildings were occupied with other critters, so that’s how she ended up in my bedroom. I figured it would just be for a few days, but the weather just kept going whacky, so she’s been in there for the last six weeks.”
During her time inside, Moonpie became acquainted with 12 other dogs who also lived in the house. All the dogs loved Moonpie, but it was a deaf white bull terrier named Spackle who took a liking to her.
“The picture with the white bull terrier–that was Moonpie’s first day here,” Wolf said. “Spackle loves babies, and immediately became her protector and buddy. She wouldn’t leave that calf’s side. They instantly bonded.”
The dogs have become Moonpie’s surrogate moms and they enjoy cleaning her face the way her mother would’ve. Moonpie even adapted to some of the dog’s habits. She learned how to use the bathroom. She holds it until she can go outside like the dogs do.
“She does what the dogs show her, so she learned how to do that,” Wolf said.
Since the weather has been getting nicer, Moonpie has been spending more time outside and she got to meet the sanctuary’s other mini calf, Sooner.
“At first she wasn’t sure what to think, and then she just like, ‘OK, a bigger dog,'” Wolf said. “But they started hanging together, too. She now knows she’s a cow, I think.”
The other animals at the sanctuary include an emu, a water buffalo, a zebra, capybaras, pigs, dogs, goats, chickens and other cows, all rescued from abusive and neglectful situations. It will still be a bit before Moonpie can be introduced to them, according to Wolf. She just has more growing to do until then.
Moonpie was fortunate enough to be saved from potential slaughter and she is being treated like a princess and will live out the rest of her life that way. It’s important to be thankful for sanctuaries such as Rocky Ridge Refuge and everything they do for animals in need!
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