Farewell Chloe

Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 8:45 AM

Well it's official.  Our first cow Chloe is on her way to sunny New Mexico as we speak.  Everything worked out to get her on the road yesterday, though I can't say it worked out smoothly.  DW has the grass stains and scraps to prove it.  I was hoping to get some pictures of her getting loaded, but you'll soon find out why that very quickly became a low priority.  Keep in mind, the following story was related to me by my wife, as I was at work.

The very patient and nice shipper had been waiting at our house all day (I'm sure he was being paid to be patient), eagarly anticipating a 2:30 arrival of the vet and a 3:00 departure for New Mexico.  At 2:15 my wife put Chloe in the stanchion and fed her a little grain to keep her happy.  The vet had to check the site of the TB injection to make sure it turned up negative.  At 2:30 the vet had yet to arrive and my oldest son was instructed to go give her an armful of hay to tide her over longer.  At 3:00, nary a sign of the vet was to be seen.  Obligitory head scratch....  I called them yesterday and set up a 2:30 farm call.  Is he running late?

DW places a call to the vet's office and is informed that the receptionist thought we were bringing the cow by the vet's office so they could look at her there.  O.K.?  I discussed that as a possiblility, but specifically said we needed the vet to come out here.  Whatever.  So, time to load up the cow.  Had my mother-in-law not been present this might have gone much worse, as no one would have been watching the kids.  DW saunters out to the barn, puts Chloe on the lead rope, and let's her out of the stanchion.  Needless to say, she was not thrilled about being the in the stanchion for the last 45 minutes.  Her threat radar is on as all of these events are quite unusual for her.  But she sees the bucket of grain my wife is holding and obediently follows.  Around the car port they go when Chloe spots fresh grass.  RUN, RUN, RUN, eat, eat, eat....while DW tries to use her 110lb frame to jump start a 1000 lb cow.  Finally she starts moving again.  They round the cars and suddenly the stock trailer and shipper come into view.  I'm convinced at this moment that an "Oh, no you don't!", in the correct combination of "moos" and snorts, went through her head.  She had not seen the shipper arrive last night, and did not like the look of this situation. 

RUN, RUN, RUN!  At this point Chloe's speed accelerates past DW's top speed, and DW eats dirt.  Not only this, but her stubborn nature refuses to allow her to let this cow get away.  There she goes, dragged across the yard like a panicked water skiier who refuses to let go of the rope when they fall.  Just at the moment DW decides to let go, Chloe gives it up and stops.  Wife regains composure, looks around embarassingly to see if anyone witnessed her moment of grace, and spots the MIL and all four kids staring wide-eyed at her through the front door glass.  Chloe gets her second wind.  RUN, RUN, RUN!  Luckily, she throttles back a little and DW is able to keep pace whilst holding the lead rope.  She heads for the barn...something familiar and safe.  DW can tell she's headed for the pasture, and refuses to be dragged around anymore.  She wisely throws the lead rope around a post and brings panicked cow to a halt.  Just as she's getting her wits about her, she notices with horror that the cow's halter is about to come off.  If she slips out of that thing we'd be lucky to catch her by dark. 

Keep in mind, this is a very good natured and loving cow.  But she knows somethin' ain't right, and she's in "wild animal" mode.  DW calmly tightens the halter while the MIL runs out to help, kids watching wide-eyed from the back porch.  The rest actually goes pretty smoothly.  With the MIL holding the grain as an incentive, and DW back on the lead rope, Chloe walks calmly to the trailer.  The predicted initial refusal to enter the trailer occurs.  She does, however, see the heifer calf she'll be sharing a stall with and becomes extremely curious.  She loves calves, and is probably ecstatic about having one of her own in March.  MIL lifts one front leg into the trailer and Chloe's love of grain and extreme love of cute calves takes over and she enters.

The fun does not end there, however.  Upon arrival at the vet and a thumbs up on her health is accomplished, the vet returns to the recesses of his office to do the paperwork.  Thirty minutes later DW is informed their fax machine is on the fritz.  Five minutes later she is informed that they are talking with New Mexico (rules about transporting cattle, getting permit number to transport,etc.) and it will be just a few more minutes.  "A few minutes" turns into 30 more.  DW at least gets to see "the bionic dog" while she's waiting.  A 16 year-old Boston Terrier is being seen.  This dog is literally on life support.  Blind and deaf, this poor animal has to be carried around because it can't walk (at least not well).  The vet is explaining to the owner how they are literally just piecing this dog back together.  Oh well.

Finally the health certificate is done, signed, and Chloe is on the road.  The poor shipper is 2 hours behind, and will likely not make it to Amarillo like he wished.  Oh well, again.  Chloe has a new home, and DW has some grass stains and a few scraps to remember her by.  We really did love her, and don't blame her for being freaked out. 

Hopefully we'll get some good pictures of her at her new home to post.

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Posted by Jenny on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 4:38 PM - Link

Oh my! That Chloe sure has some personality. She almost gave a similar show upon her arrival here in NM, but I let go of the lead when she took off into the pasture. I figured she deserved a break. Kudos to your DW for her quick thinking and persistence! She and the youngster, Reina, arrived safely home at around 8:30 this morning. Chloe is reluctant to share her hay with Reina and is very interested in meeting the rest of the herd, but I'm keeping them isolated for the time being because I want to introduce them slowly to our pasture, which contains lots of lush clover and alfalfa. As for the shippers, they made it all the way to Santa Rosa last night so they are doing fine. Plus I gave them a handsome tip. Thanks for all your efforts to get Chloe here. It was so fun to call her name earlier and see her turn her head. Photos coming soon....

Untitled Comment

Posted by Regina on Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 5:12 AM - Link

I only have one small correction to your retelling of this story. You make it sound like she dragged me halfway across the yard. In reality, it was only 2 seconds.

I'm glad you can laugh at my expense. :)