Then the doorbell rang.
Neither of us liked to answer the door. That was a torture in the same category as talking on the phone to strangers, except that the phone had caller ID, so we could screen strange numbers. Janna and I engaged in a silent battle of wills. I lost and went to answer the door. Opening it, I gaped at a uniformed man standing on the deck. So surprised was I by the appearance of an actual stranger that I couldn't even identify the uniform.
He introduced himself as a member of the SPCA. I blinked at him. Had someone called the SPCA on us?
Yep.
Why? We don't abuse our animals. The perfectly healthy dogs frolicking on the front lawn ought to testify to that.
Well, it wasn't the dogs that he was there to talk about. It was the cows. To be specific, it was one cow that was being kept in a small pasture right beside the highway.
It was Janna's cow. I knew I should have made her answer the door.
Let me tell you about this cow. It had a lump on its shoulder - an incredibly large lump. It made the cow rather immobile. The vet had taken a look at it, tried to treat it, tried draining the fluid from it, but nothing worked. The lump just kept coming back. Normally, the cow should have been put down immediately since this thing was unidentifiable and clearly incurable. However, that cow (like all the other cows) had a calf, and the calf was not yet weaned. The vet had advised us to keep the cow alive (which was easy since it was healthy apart from the shoulder-sized lump on its shoulder) until the calf was reasonably old enough to be weaned. Then the cow could be put down. In fact, the cow was scheduled to be put down that very afternoon (which I knew, and which I told the SPCA officer). What I didn't know was that the vet had been in the area that morning and had already euthanized the cow before my dad went out to the field.
I told the SPCA officer everything he needed to know and then he left. I returned to the kitchen to glower at my sister for making me answer the door and deal with her problem cow. When lunch time came, I took lunch to the field for my dad and told him about the officer's visit (at which point he brought me up to date on the status of the cow - thanks, Dad...).
I don't think we ever heard from the SPCA again. We had answered their questions, had done everything in consultation with the vet, and were obviously good people who knew how to take care of our animals. Our only mistake was to keep the cow in the pasture by the highway - the one pasture that happened to be perfect for a cow that couldn't travel far and needed supervision.
I guess I can't blame whoever it was that called the SPCA for doing what they did. The cow did look pretty bad. If it was me, I wouldn't want to drive onto a stranger's yard and say, "Hey, what's up with that cow?" Most farmers are friendly, but I've heard stories of the bad ones. I wouldn't take that kind of a risk.
Still, I can't help being a little annoyed, even now, almost eight years after this all happened. Some random person driving past our place saw a cow, decided that we weren't taking proper care of it, and called the SPCA. This person did not stop to notice that the cow was close to the house, where we could keep an eye on her. He or she didn't take note of the fact that the cow had food and water easily accessible to her. They ignored the fact that they had no idea of the cow's history with this lump and it's treatment. This person just went ahead and called the SPCA to come investigate us.
I understand that people are concerned about animal welfare. I'm concerned about animal welfare and that's why I take care of my animals - although without knowing me, you wouldn't know that. Consumers need to understand that healthy, happy animals are more productive. Even farmers that are only driven by financial gain generally treat their animals well because they understand that principle.
I understand that it's important to protect the privacy of the person who reported the cow to the SPCA, but I still would like very much to meet that person and explain to him or her exactly what was going on with that cow and what went in to the decisions we made in dealing with her.
I understand that it is hard to trust that farmers treat their animals right, because all we ever hear about are the disgusting stories of abuse. Consumers need to understand that farmers are smart, educated, resourceful, compassionate people. We know how best to care for our animals, and we do what we know we should.
It's okay to ask questions, to raise concerns, and to want to know more. It's okay to hold farmers accountable for animal welfare, environmental responsibility, and social responsibility. We just want you to know that that there are two sides to every story.
Just as a teacher might not know exactly what the dentist is doing, that teacher might not know exactly how her food is raised. She just knows the basics of each. She still trusts that the dentist will help her teeth be healthy, and she is free to ask questions of the dentist. She can trust farmers and their decisions in the same way. If you have questions and concerns, ask the experts.
I haven't got a picture of the cow from this story, but this is Dopey, a calf who broke his leg, who spent time in the same pasture while he healed.
