A Series Of Events Led This Cow To Believe That She Is Actually A Dog
If you ask anyone to name a barnyard animal, they would most definitely put a cow on the list. It is certainly one of the most common farm animals around. Well all know that cows moo, that they give us milk and that they sometimes end up as our dinner. This cow is one that you will certainly remember for sure. It had done something that no other cow had ever been recorded as doing before. She has certainly changed a lot of notions we have about cows. Your perception might be changed too…
A Unique Cow
This cow had a very unique start. She was actually born just outside of Houston. Her birth happened only a few days after a catastrophic event struck her birthplace. In actuality, this calf was certainly not meant to survive the disaster that took place. The world that she was born into was quite a mess. She, however, found a very distinct way of beating the odds and managing to survive what other cows would have withered away from.
One Of The Victims
We must have all heard about the powerful and disastrous hurricane name Hurricane Harvey. A few days after Hurricane Harvey ripped apart the southern United States in August 2017, there were a lot of casualties. The hurricane ended up flooding city streets and country pastures as well. Tammy Canton, 43 and her dear husband were among the victims of this ruthless hurricane that destroyed so much.
A Tight Home
Tammy and her husband were in a dire situation when Hurricane Harvey took over their neighborhood. The natural calamity left them quite distressed as it destroyed so much of their possessions and property. There were two additional families and eight dogs that had taken shelter in the comfort of their humble home in Fulshear, Texas. Hence, since there were a lot of individuals, space was rather tight.
More Trouble
It was already stressful enough for the family to get through the hurricane that was not sparing anyone. They were trying their best to live through the disaster and everybody tried their best not to panic, to do whatever they can to survive. But then, as they were hustling and bustling to find a way to overcome Hurricane Harvey, Tammy’s husband noticed something that would result in more trouble for the couple…
More Worries
The family loved animals so it was not a surprise that they also kept a lot of farm animals too. As hurricane was raging and they were all preparing themselves, Tammy’s husband realized something that worried him a lot. He could see that one of the family’s pet cows had unexpectedly welcomed her babies right after the storm passed. They were worried as it is and this certainly added more to their plate…
A New Mother Cow
It was a tricky situation even for the cow because she was also trying to find her way to escape the after-effects of the hurricane. “My husband noticed she [the calf] was standing in water not nursing from her mom,” Tammy revealed to interviewers, giving them an insight of what had taken place when her husband realized that a new calf was born. This was not even the worst thing that happened that day.
Not So Ideal
The couple was one that really loves animals, so when her husband saw that there was a struggling new mother cow, he could not help but feel worried. And as Tammy explained, the weather was certainly not an ideal place to be raising a feeble calf. “The water was extremely cold,” Tammy explained the scenario where the calf had been birthed, “and the pasture was holding quite a bit of water.”
What To Do?
Need For Action
Since Tammy and her husband could see everything, they knew that the calf was in a critical condition. The couple was so worried that she would not be able to survive even the first day of its arrival. The unhealthy reality of the situation was something that she and her husband were certain, had to be changed. They had to act quickly or else the calf would not be able to survive.
Playing Hero
And so Tammy’s concerns grew as the time went on. She knew that if she or her husband did not go and make something better about the situation that the calf was brought into, they would have to see her die. And this was not something that the two wanted to witness. Like we had mentioned earlier, their home was already flooded with people and dogs, but once again the couple had to play hero.
A Shivering Calf
Since the storm had just hit the surrounding areas, it was going to be quite the struggle for Tammy and her husband to get to the cow. They would have to brave the flooded pasture in order to get to the newborn calf that was helplessly lying there. She was still a weakling and was unable to stand by herself, and that was not all. The baby calf was also shivering terribly and it was clear she was feeling very cold.
Too Gar Gone
Tammy and her husband were making their way toward the baby calf. They wanted to make it in time to be able to save the calf as it would certainly not live through the after-effects of Hurricane Harvey. The couple had to go through quite the challenge to get to her. In the words of Tammy, the cow was quite hard to get to, “She seemed too far gone for me to help her,” she explained.
The Vet’s Suggestions
The struggle was tough but eventually, Tammy and her husband were able to retrieve her from the harsh environment she was born into. And due to the fact that the calf was so young, it had not even developed an immune system when they rescued her. They later named the calf Harveigh. A veterinary doctor has suggested that they kept the calf indoors to protect her from any threat.
The Laundry Room
So the couple had to follow the doctor’s orders and keep baby Harveigh inside the house to keep it from dying. She was too weary to stay outside and would not be able to adjust just yet. And so just like that, Tammy was setting up her laundry room to house the baby calf. She had to make sure that the environment was suitable to bring up a baby calf. This was already an unusual thing to occur already.
Gradual Progress
And so for a few weeks, Harveigh was made to sleep on a dog bed. She would also be given hand-fed formula frequently. And so every day, she became a little stronger, and the Canton family was hopeful that she would gain enough strength to return to the pasture. They were happy to see that the baby calf went from barely being able to stand up to being healthier as the days went on.
Unexpected Behavior
There was another thing that pleasantly surprised the couple when they saw little Harveigh’s progress. It was very weird for the cow to be so social too. After all, we never actually see cows interact or show interest in building relations with other animals right? Well, this cow had actually made a few unexpected and totally surprising pals as she made her progress in her health and strength.
Canine Pals
This cow was quite a friendly cow. It turned out that Harveigh was one that could easily gel with others. At one instance, the family’s dot, who is a pit bull, Sealy, started getting closer to Harveigh. When Sealy licked her, the cow’s mood perked up immediately as Tammy revealed. The cow was not a shy one and was surprisingly open to making new friends outside of her cow species too…
Start Of Something Special
Harveigh was, in fact, a very popular calf among the canines. The family had quite a few dogs but as Tammy recalled, “All of the dogs seemed to love her right away.” This was indeed a delightful news to the family who was not entirely sure that the calf would ever turn out to have such a sociable personality. Tammy was not aware that this was only the start, that something very special was going to take place.
Friendly Moo
Have you ever seen a cow be so friendly, especially with other animals? Well, Harveigh was certainly not shying away from any of the attention she was getting. She was reciprocating the interest that the family dogs were showering her with. This was actually the beginning of a number of beautiful friendships that would certainly be fit for a plot in a children’s book. It was such a cute thing to see.
Adopting The Traits
To think that this calf had been born into such a harsh environment initially was hard to believe now. After healing from the struggle she had to face, Harveigh was fast to adopt the behavior of those canine friends she made at the family home. It was a strange but beautiful sight to behold for Tammy and her family. They would often play all day and night long, seemingly unaware that they belong to two completely different species of animals!
Mutual Feelings
The dogs loved the company of the cow and vice versa. It was such an odd but wonderful sight to see. The affection was mutual so there was no trouble when the animals spent time together. On her Facebook account, Tammy updated, “Sealy loves to spend her time playing, cleaning, and protecting baby Harveigh. These two have such a special bond.”
Larger Each Day
We are all aware we associate cows with the farm. Has anyone ever hear of a cow being raised inside a family home? So obviously, the Canton family house was clearly not able to accommodate the domestic cow. There was also another catch that leads to further problems. Since Harveigh had now grown to be over 400 pounds, she was taking up too much space. A problem was brewing…
A New Spot Needed
There was no problem housing the calf in the family laundry room when she was little, but as time went on, Harveigh’s size was growing too. She was no longer the tiny calf that fit in the laundry room. Tammy could see that the calf needed a new place to stay. She had to use her mind a little to try and give the cow a nice and cozy space where she would not feel so constricted. But where could this space be?
Not Identifying Anymore
Since the cow had been living insides the family home for so long, her cow instincts had lessened as time went by. So cine Harveigh had become so conditioned by her indoor life, she absolutely refused to spend time in the pasture and graze along with the family’s six other cows. She did not identify with them anymore and so she was not willing to spend time with any of them.
At The Back Door
This was such a shocking revelation for Tammy and her family. Each time Tammy and her husband took Harveigh to the barn to keep her with her fellow cow mates, she would hurry towards the back door of their home in no time. She would not stop mooing, which was a sign that she wanted to come in! Her head and body did not belong in the farm anymore, Harveigh was at home inside the house only.
Cow Condo
The family was so confused by her behavior and they knew they would have to come up with a substitute home for Harveigh really soon. She could no longer be accompanied inside the house so, the family would have to find a new spot to keep the cow in. They decided to build something they call a “cow condo” made of a shed in their backyard. This was all for little Harveigh.
An Intermediary
This was for Harveigh and Harveigh only. This would be her personal house. The family made sure she would be comfortable and relaxed in this area where she would be living now. It was complete with an expensive space heater and was also designed as an intermediary between the family home and the barn life. They had to somehow remind Harveigh that she was a cow at the end of the day…
Still Not Accepting
There was still a problem that came up even after the cow condo had been set up. While spending her first night in the “condo,” Harveigh still left her new home and decided to sleep outside nearby the main house’s back door. She was not going anywhere and no luxurious barn was going to cut it. In her head, the family house was her home and nothing else would do…
Inside Her Head
She was not willing to accept the fact that she was a cow after all. She did not even show signs that she was one as more time passed by. And afterward, she was barely spending any time in the personal home Tammy’s family had built for her. And Harveigh would instead choose to spend her time with the family and dogs. What was going on that little head of Harveigh’s because this was not normal?
A Little Too Big
And it was sad for Harveigh because as she grew bigger, she started to get a little dangerous to her friends that she had made. Her size was becoming a little bit of a nuisance and the family knew that they once again had to do something about it. And so, although she was once able to enjoy unsupervised play-dates she soon needed a chaperone to make sure there were no casualties when she was out and about.
Too Risky
Her best friends and the animals she got along with were the family dogs. But since Harveigh was a cow, her size was obviously going to get bigger than all her chums. Harveigh’s sheer weight and size would easily be able to hurt the dogs if at all their games got a little aggressive. She could inflict pain on any of the dogs and it was clear that Tammy or her husband needed to step in once again.
Be More Cow-Like
So the family had to find a way to protect the dogs. They needed to think about the practicality of things and so Tammy stepped in to somehow transform Harveigh to behave more cow-like. Although it was fun and adorable to see Harveigh think and act like a canine, it was getting a little troublesome safety-wise. For their friendship to not cause injuries, Tammy did something.
Retraining Harveigh
Tammy decided that Harveigh needed to be retrained to act like a cow once again. After all, she was a cow although she wanted to spend her whole day and night with the dogs. So Tammy would take her out to the barn for quick visits. She no longer allowed Harveigh to spend every waking moment with the family dogs to keep everyone safe. When she started doing this, she had mixed results.
Quite The Effort
The effort that needed to be put into conditioning Harveigh to behave like a cow once again was a lot. For a cow that had been exposed to such a weird upbringing, you cannot really blame the confused cow, can you? “We are slowly introducing her,” Tammy said. “It’s so hard not to go and just get her out. If she wants to learn how to ‘cow,’ she will need to spend time with them.”
Indoor Days Not Over
As they were determined to get Harveigh to become a cow again, the family did not give up on her. They were doing all that they can to get the cow to learn and adapt with her fellow cows once again. And then, gradually but certainly, Harveigh started to behave like a cow. But this did not mean that the cow had completely flipped, her days and longing to stay indoors were far from over…
A New Trick
As the family thought that their lovely cow was finally learning to behave like a normal cow once again, they had been faced with yet another issue. What was this problem? Well, since Harveigh had learned how to open the back door all by herself, Tammy’s family had yet another problem to add to their list. Now, if she felt a little irritated by the cow behavior, she could just barge into the house.
With Rules
The family had no choice but to live with this new ability that Harveigh had taught herself. Tammy was accepting of this behavior but there were rules that applied too. “I don’t let her free roam in the house,” Tammy explained, “Just quick visits to come in and say hi to our dogs.” The cow could no longer sit or sleep idle, taking all the time that she wanted, inside the house like she used to.
Occasional Pampering
And even though Harveigh was forced to drop her canine habits to become more bovine, Tammy could not help but bring her inside at times. She would often let the cow in for some much needed and expected pampering every once in a while. She would often give Harveigh dog treats that she likes so much.
A Unique Bond
It is clear that this cow was more special than the other cows this family owns. They treated her a little differently as they normally did the others. “It fills my heart with joy being able to spend so much sweet time with her,” Tammy confessed, “She will literally lay her head on my lap and be at peace.”
The Dog Cow
Who would have guessed that a cow could end up becoming such an adorable pet? Harveigh is a 400-pound dog that would occasionally behave like a cow. Where else can you find such a special cow? We hope this story made you smile and feel free to share it with your friends…
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