Watching Herbie the Rescued Calf Have a Ball

categories: Animal Emotions, Farm Animals, Sanctuaries

Published September 21, 2009 @ 06:33AM PT

Edit: It came to my attention just tonight that I accidentally included video #2 twice; video #3 is now included at the bottom, where it was intended to be.

What do you say to kicking off this week on a happy note? Last night, I saw a great video and knew immediately that it would be the subject of this morning's post (along with a couple follow-up videos). It's too wonderful not to share, despite the fact that I'm late to the party (all the videos are a couple years old). Here's the backstory: there's a sanctuary in New Jersey about which I just learned yesterday. For the Animals Sanctuary is a small, family-run operation, with roughly 30 animals currently -- a community of goats, chickens, pigs, cats, dogs, and one cow and one steer, a fairly famous young steer.

In December 2006, Herbie, a calf around just 4 months old, was on his way to the slaughterhouse when he joined the ranks of those precious few animals who escape; when accidentally given the opportunity, he jumped off the truck and took a surely terrified run through Brooklyn. And after a few months at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, he ultimately ended up in New Jersey in early 2007, at what is now the For the Animals Sanctuary, along with a fellow calf named Kevina, with whom he shares a beautiful and readily apparent bond (see video of their early days in New Jersey together here); Kevina was rescued from slaughter just in time too -- the other male babies at the dairy farm where she was born (workers initially mistook her for male as well) were apparently drowned.

But let's get to the uber-cute videos, right? The below videos (each is very short, under 1 minute) filled my heart and made me laugh out loud. Anyone who has ever lived with a young playful dog will immediately see similarities in Herbie. I was mesmerized by the degree to which young Herbie acts just like my dog friends here, right down to rubbing and scratching his face on the ground, with his butt in the air; I see that in my backyard often. There's nothing remotely graphic about these videos, but I think that if I'd still been eating animals when I saw these, I would have struggled to afterward -- because how do you look at an animal with such clear personality and feelings and joys and fears and not question a decision to kill and eat him, just because you think his dead flesh tastes good? Anyway, on with the (three) videos, totaling under 2 joyful minutes in all. Enjoy.

Photo at top of the loving Herbie and Kevina courtesy of For the Animals Sanctuary

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Comments (6)

Violet does that too! The down-dog rubbing with the "roo-ing." It's such a delight to see this side of cows! Every person who claims to love animals should watch this. We say that cows feel pleasure, pain, boredom and frustration, but we rarely get to see the pleasure in action. Thanks!

Posted by Mary Martin on 09/21/2009 @ 09:19AM PT
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I wonder if Herbie would enjoy a treat ball - the balls that have holes in them and you fill them with treats so when the cat or dog or cow pushes it around, the treats fall out. Our dogs find comfort in treat balls when we leave them home alone. I bet Herbie would like something like that.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault on 09/21/2009 @ 10:50AM PT
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This is so cute! My friend said he looks like a puppy :-) Kind of true.

Posted by Philosophia and Animal Liberation on 09/21/2009 @ 12:54PM PT
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these are great! i've seen these awhile back. check out this cute video of herbie chasing a branch!

Posted by J Cruz on 09/21/2009 @ 11:02PM PT
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3CWNJO-JrM&feature=channel_page

Posted by J Cruz on 09/21/2009 @ 11:02PM PT
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The way it should be.

Posted by dawnofanewera * on 09/22/2009 @ 11:26PM PT
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Stephanie is an independent animal rights advocate, a vegan, a tree-hugging environmentalist, and a freelance editor and writer. She lives in St. Louis with an aging corgi-lab and an adolescent rescued pit bull.