A Unique Barn Resident
Milkdud, a young steer, was taken by a neighboring humane society from a hobby farm that went desperately wrong, along with 184 animals that were starving, dirty, and sick. Knowing Rescue Village has a shelter barn for domesticated barn animals they reached out for help.
Milkdud arrived at Rescue Village with several chickens, rabbits, a duck and another calf that was starving so badly it couldn’t stand. While the calf was whisked off for emergency veterinary intervention, Milkdud quickly made himself at home in his stall and in the paddock.
Because Milkdud was evidence in a humane case, Rescue Village did its best to keep his presence quiet, but this became increasingly difficult as he started to feel better and gain weight. Friendly, social, outgoing, and vocal, it was impossible to hide his loud mooing when he greeted people. He quickly won the hearts of everyone by insisting on nose and head scratches and by following along the paddock fence with dogs and their dog walkers as they made their way out to the dog walking trails.
While Rescue Village’s barn is usually full of pigs, chickens, ducks and horses, an adoptable steer is an uncommon Rescue Village resident! However, it didn’t take long for Milkdud to settle in and feel comfortable. That same summer, he briefly shared the barn with another adoptable cow named Tiny (who was anything but). Tiny came to Rescue Village from a different humane case, marking the first time Rescue Village had two adoptable cattle in the barn at the same time.
People generally don’t think of cattle as emotional and intelligent creatures, but you could definitely tell when Milkdud was happy, which was most of the time. However, still growing, it took him a while to get used to the fact that his horns were still growing. One day, he got very upset after getting his head stuck inside the entrance of a plastic igloo used by potbellied pigs for shelter. This was something he had done many other times before without any problems.
It was hard not to fall in love with Milkdud. He would come when called, galloping across the pasture to get all the love and attention he could. He loved getting treats, using his long, scratchy tongue to gently take treats from your hand. After several months at Rescue Village, he was put up for adoption. Milkdud was no longer needed as evidence for the humane case, and he gained enough weight to receive a clean bill of health.
Milkdud was adopted by a family with a barn and pasture where other farm animals lived, giving him new friends for life and plenty of space to graze and play.
