All Grown Up!

by Leanne

 

A little more than a year ago, we welcomed Harrison and Loretta to the California Shelter. When they arrived, Harrison was only one week old and small enough that we picked him up to unload him from the trailer in which he travelled to the sanctuary. As a tiny calf, he always remained close to his mother, hiding behind her when he was scared. Loretta, in turn, dutifully protected her son and kept him feeling safe and secure.

At 14 months old, Harrison is much more independent than he was when he first arrived. Now in the main cattle herd, he happily grazes alongside steers more than twice his size, and, at times, moves far away from his mom. This doesn’t bother Loretta at all since she trusts the other cattle to keep a watchful eye on him. Despite his newfound independence, at the end of the day, Harrison still finds his mom so he can snuggle with her, or hide his head under her abdomen if he needs comfort from time to time.

Though he is nearly as big as Loretta now too, Harrison has maintained his endearing wrinkles and large ears. His shy, inquisitive nature also remains – he will happily sniff any hand that is offered to him, but keeps his distance by stretching his neck as far out as possible. Like most animals on the farm, the way to his heart is with treats, particularly apples. He engulfs your entire hand to get the small morsel, using his large tongue to give you a nice kiss of thanks in return. When we bring the treats, we always need to bring enough for two though because, Cupid, Harrison’s best friend, is never far away.

We are very lucky that a humane officer spoke up a year ago to save Harrison from certain death and realized that his survival depended on Loretta. He has changed so much in the past year, and we look forward to seeing what the next 10 years will bring.

Comments

[Becci]

Yay, Harrison! I met him last summer, when he was ALMOST too big to nurse, but was trying anyway. What a cutie. Thanks for the update!