A baby cow in Holland, New York, got loose from a slaughterhouse and ran into the woods, where people kept trying to find her. Some folks wanted to protect he,r while others were just looking for mea,t and that made the whole thing messy.
They would see her here and there, but she moved fast, and nobody could get close enough to grab her. She had already figured out how to blend in with the trees and snow.
Bonnie had grown up on a farm where cows were raised for slaughter and that farm changed hands after the owner died. The family decided to sell the whole herd and during all the chaos of loading the cows she slipped out and made her way into the forest.
It was winter and the snow was deep so tracking her was tough and eventually everybody gave up. There was just no easy way to find her in all that cold and quiet.
Some time passed and Bonnie ended up with a herd of deer who basically took her in. They walked the woods together and it seemed like she fit right in which surprised anyone who heard about it.
The land she wandered onto belonged to a woman named Becky Bartels who had trail cameras all over the place to watch the deer. One day she checked the photos and was shocked to see a cow showing up with the herd.
It made sense though, since cows and deer both stick together in groups and Bonnie had no herd anymore. She just found a new one and stayed with them to get through the winter.
Becky started leaving out food and bedding for Bonnie so she wouldnt go hungry. Bonnie kept her distance at first and only came close enough to grab what she needed while watching Becky carefully.
After a while, Bonnie got more comfortable and would walk up for snacks, but Becky understood this was temporary. The neighbors were already saying they would shoot Bonnie if she wandered onto their property, and that scared her.
Becky reached out to Farm Sanctuary, which is an animal sanctuary in New York for help. Their national director, Susie Coston, worked with her to figure out how to safely bring Bonnie in.
Bonnie still didn’t trust people, so catching her was a slow process. Anytime she saw a human she took off again, which made it hard to even get near her.
They talked with the sanctuary vet and decided the safest plan was to give Bonnie a sedative mixed into her food. Becky handled the feeding since she was the only one Bonnie would even tolerate being around.
They also set up barriers so she could not just run off again once she moved into the feeding area. The first dose didnt really work though because she was still walking around and kicking.
So they tried again the next day with a stronger dose and that time it worked. The sanctuary team loaded her into their truck and took her to the sanctuary where she could finally relax.
Now she lives with other cows and has a safe life. And honestly, that only happened because Becky cared enough to keep going until Bonnie was out of danger.
